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COMMERCE 


NOTICE 


HOW  TO  OPEN  A  BOOK. 

From  ^^Modern  Bookbinding.^* 

Hold  the  book  with  its  back  on  a  smooth  op 
covered  table ;  let  the  fpont  board  down,  then 
the  other,  holding*  the  leaves  in  one  hand  while 
you  open  a  few  leaves  at  the  back,  then  a  few  at 
the  front,  and  so  on,  alternately  opening  back 
and  front,  gently  pressing  open  the  sections  till 
you  reach  the  center  of  the  volume.  Do  this  two 
or  three  times  and  you  will  obtain  the  best  re¬ 
sults.  Open  the  volume  violently  or  carelessly 
in  any  one  place  and  you  will  likely  break  the 
back  and  cause  a  start  in  the  leaves.  Never 
force  the  back  of  the  book. 

“A  connoisseur  many  years  ago,  an  excellent 
customer  of  mine,  who  thought  he  knew  per¬ 
fectly  how  to  handle  books,  came  into  my  office 
when  I  had  an  expensive  binding  just  brought 
from  the  bindery  ready  to  be  sent  home ;  he, 
before  my  eyes,  took  hold  of  the  volume  and 
tightly  holding  the  leaves  in  each  hand,  instead 
of  allowing  them  free  play,  violently  opened  it 
in  the  center  and  exclaimed :  ‘  How  beautifully 
your  bindings  open!’  I  almost  fainted.  He 
had  broken  the  back  of  the  volume  and  it  had  to 
be  rebound.’* 


COMMERCE 

In  his  Colossal  Allegory  of  the  Apotheosis  of  Washington  in  the 
Rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  Bruimidi  has  a  group  symbolical  of  Commerce. 
Mercury,  with  portrait  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  of  Robert  Morris,  signer 
of  the  Declaration,  financier  of  the  Revolution  in  the  last  days  of  his  life 
imprisoned  for  debt,  and  here  given  enduring  fame. 


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DR.  ORISON  SWETT  MARDEN 

Editor-in-  Ciiicf 


GEORGE  RAYWOOD  DE:VITT,  M.. 

(  Member  National  Geographic  Society,  Member  Anthropological  Society ) 

.  Managing  Editor 


THE  ARTS,  HISTORY,  COMMERCE, 

SCIENCES,  BIOGRAPHY,  FINANCE, 

LITERATURE,  GEOGRAPHY,  STATISTICS,  Ere 

Core f nil V  Indexed 


Volume  XIII 


w"'  ... 


THE 


CONSOLIDATED 

LIBRARY 


New  York  and  Washington 

Bureau  of  National  Literature  and  Art 

1907 


U.  OF  ILL  UB. 


Copyrighted  1907 

BY 

Bureau  of  National  Literature  and  Art 


03/ 

M  33(2. 
190  7 
V.  13 


EDITORIAL  STAFF 


ORISON  SWETT  HARDEN 

Editor-in-Chief. 

GEORGE  RAYWOOD  DEVITT,  M.  A. 
Managing  Editor 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS 


MARION  FOSTER  WASHBURNE  CHARLES  G.  D.  ROBERTS,  M.A. 

ELISABETH  SYLVESTER 
ELSA  BARKER  WILBUR  FISK  HINMAN 

JASON  E.  HAMMOND  ERNEST  SETON-THOMPSON 

DANIEL  BATCHELLOR 


ANNA  McCLURE  SHOLL 


MRS.  THEODORE  W.  BIRNEY 


V 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS 


They  give  us  their  best  from  the  fullness  of  their  lives)^ 


REV.  THOMAS  ROBERT  SLICER 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  WINGATE 
DR.  FELIX  LEOPOLD  OSWALD 

Recorder  Equitable  Eife  Assurance  Company 

SAMUEL  FROST 

ARTHUR  TWINING  HADLEY 

President  Yale  College 

DAVID  STARR  JORDAN 

President  Eeland  Stanford  Jr.  University 

CHARLES  FRANKLIN  THWING 

President  Western  Re.serve  University 

HAMILTON  WRIGHT  MABIE, 
LL.D. 

RANDOLPH  GUGGENHEIMER 
HENRY  MORTON 

President  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology 

REV.  DR.  F.  C.  IGLEHART 
HEZEKIAH  LUTTERWORTH 

Editor  Youth’s  Companion 

SAMUEL  SILAS  CURRY 

President  School  of  Expression,  Boston 

EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE 
REV.  ROBERT  COLLYER 
CHARLES  M.  SCHWAB 
BISHOP  JOHN  F.  HURST 
REV.  DAVID  JAMES  BURRELL 
NEWELL  DWIGHT  HILLIS 
REV.  FRANK  W.  GUNSAULUS 
REV.  M.  SOLLEY 

St.  Patrick’s  Church,  Newburgh,  N.  Y. 

DR.  CHARLES  D.  McIVOR 

President  N.  C.  State  Normal  School 

HENRY  MITCHELL  MacCRACKEN 

Chancellor  New  York  University 

GEORGE  FREDERICK  SHRADY, 

M.D. 

WILLIAM  TOD  HELMUTH,  M.D. 


DR.  JOHN  I.  HART 

President  N.  Y.  State  Dental  Association 

FREDERICK  RENE  COUDERT 

GENERAL  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 
TRACY 

PROFESSOR  ISAAC  FRANKLIN 
RUSSELL 

ALLAN  FORMAN 

Editor  of  “  The  Journalist  ” 

HENRY  WATTERSON 
WILLIAM  D.  HOWELLS 
ANTHONY  HOPE 
EDGAR  FAWCETT 
JAMES  WHITCOMB  RILEY 
BERTHA  RUNKLE 
EDWIN  MARKHAM 
CHARLES  WESLEY  EMERSON 

President  Emerson  College  of  Oratory 

WILLIAM  MERRITT  CHASE 

PROFESSOR  DANIEL  BATCH- 
ELLOR 

JOHN  GALEN  HOWARD 

Architect  of  the  University  of  California 

CONSTANT  COQUELIN 
RICHARD  MANSFIELD 
MINNIE  MADDERN  FISKE 

JULIA  MARLOWE 
JOHN  FISKE 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 
BENJAMIN  B.  ODELL,  Jr. 

Governor  of  New  York  State 

EX-SPEAKER  GALUSHA  AARON 
GROW 

SENATOR  JOSEPH  BENSON  FOR- 
AKER 


VI 


LIST  OP  CONTRIBUTORS 


BENJAMIN  F  JONES 
JOHN  ROBERT  PROCTOR 

President  of  the  U.  S  Civil  Service  Commission 

ADMIRAL  SCHLEY 
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  MILES 
GEORGE  W.  McCLUSKY 

Chief  of  Detectives.  N.  Y. 

WILLIAM  M.  WELCH 

DR  T  C.  MARTIN 

PARK  BENJAMIN 

THOMAS  A.  EDISON 

HUDSON  MAXIM 

CHARLES  C.  BAYLIS 

CARROLL  DAVIDSON  WRIGHT 

U.  S.  Commissioner  of  I^abor 

JAMES  B.  REYNOLDS 

REV.  A.  P.  DOYLE 

SECRETARY  CHARLES  D.  WIL¬ 
SON 

CHARLES  F.  HEXAMER 

Editor  of  “  The  American  Agriculturist  ” 

ISAAC  PHILLIPS  ROBERTS 

Director  College  of  Agriculture  and  of  the  U. 
S.  Experimental  Station,  Cornell  Univer¬ 
sity 

HENRY  SABIN 

WILLIAM  FLETCHER  KING 

President  Cornell  College,  la. 

CHARLES  RANLETT  FLINT 
JOHN  GREENE 

Editor  Bradstreet 

CLEMENT  C.  GAINES 
E.  P.  HATCH 

Ol  Eord  &  Taylor’s 

NATHAN  STRAUSS 

Of  R.  H.  Macy  &  Co. 

MILES  M.  O’BRIEN 

Representative  of  H.  B.  Claflin  &  Co. 

LYMAN  JUDSON  GAGE 

Secretary  Treasury  United  States 

GEORGE  WALTON  WILLIAMS 
GAGE  E.  TARBELL 

Second  Vice-president  Equitable  Eife  Assur- 
rance  Company 

HENRY  CLEWS 
JAMES  J.  HILL 

ALEXANDER  JOHNSON  CASSATT 
WILLIAM  M,  GARRETT 


REBECCA  HARDING  DAVIS 
ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON 
JENNIE  JUNE  CROLY 
ELLA  WHEELER  WILCOX 
MRS.  EDWIN  MARKHAM 

BELVA  ANN  BENNETT  LOCK- 
WOOD 

ELLA  A.  BLACK 

HARRIET  PRESCOTT  SPOFFORD 
MAY  WRIGHT  SEWELL 

MRS.  CHARLES  WARREN  FAIR¬ 
BANKS 

WILBUR  F.  JACKMAN 

Professor  of  Natural  Science,  Blaine  School, 
University  of  Chicago 

J.  MERLE  COULTER 

Professor  of  Botany,  Chicago  University 

MILTON  UPDEGRAFF 

U.  S.  Naval  Observatory 

BAXTER  MORTON,  M.D. 

U.  S.  Patent  Office 

CHARLES  F.  JOHNSON 
JULES  GUTHRIDGE 
CHARLES  A.  CONANT 

Special  Commissioner  Finance  to  Philippines, 
New  York  Journal  of  Commerce 

CHARLES  F.  BENJAMIN 
G.  STANLEY  HALL,  LL.D. 

President  Clark  University,  Worcester] 

JESSE  WALTER  FEWKES 

Bureau  of  Ethnology,  U.  S. 

CARL  HENRY  ANDREW  BJERRE- 
GAARD 

Eibrarian,  The  Astor  Eibrary,  N.  Y. 

CHARLES  JOHNSTON 
BLISS  CARMAN 

Author  —  Poet 

EPIPHANIUS  WILSON 
MRS.  GEORGE  NASH 
MARION  FOSTER  WASHBURNE 
NORMAN  FOSTER,  M.D. 

KATE  BLAKE 

JOHN  H.  McCORMICK,  M.D. 

MRS.  THEODORE  W.  BIRNEY 
ELIZA  MOSHER,  M.D. 

Professor  Hygiene  Department  and  Women’s 
Dean,  U  niversity  of  Michigan 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS 


vu 


ORISON  SWETT  MARDEN 

D.  F.  St.  CLAIR 

LIDA  A.  CHURCHILL 

REV.  EDWARD  PAYSON  TENNEY 

ARTHUR  W.  BROWN 

MARGARET  CONNOLLY 

ERNEST  W.  HOLMES 

REV.  W.  J.  TILLEY 

ERNEST  SETON-THOMPSON 

FRANK  ROE  BATCHELDER 

JASON  E.  HAMMOND 

Superintendent  of  Education  Michigan 

ARTHUR  F.  WILLISTON 

Director  of  Science  and  Technology,  Pratt  In¬ 
stitute 

REV.  WILLIAM  STEPHEN  RAINS- 
FORD 

REV.  CHARLES  H.  EATON 
MILES  O’BRIEN 

Chairman  Board  of  Education,  New  York 

MARY  F.  PEABODY 
CHARLES  G.  D.  ROBERTS 

Author  —  Poet 

JULIA  WARD  HOWE 
ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON 
MRS.  FRANK  LESLIE 
HENRIETTE  HOVEY 

Pupil  and  for  some  time  assistant  of  the  cele¬ 
brated  Gustave  Delsarte 

MAY  ELIZABETH  WILSON  SHER¬ 
WOOD 

WILLIAM  S.  HILLS 

Secretary  of  Gymnasium,  Columbia  College 

MRS.  RUSSELL  SAGE 
WILLIAM  ORDWAY  PARTRIDGE 

Sculptor  —  Author 

LESLEY  GLENDOWER  PEABODY 
JAMES  GIBBONS  HUNEKER 

Author  —  Music  Critic  with  New  York  Musical 
Courier 

LOUIS  CHARLES  ELSON 

Professor  N.  E).  Conservatory  of  Music 

ABBEY  PERKINS  CHENEY 
WILLIAM  JAMES  HENDERSON 

Musical  Critic  —  Author 

WILLIAM  SMITH  BABCOCK 
MATHEWS 

Bditor  of  “  Music,”  Musical  Writer 


HUGH  ARCHIBALD  CLARKE 

Professor  of  Music  at  University  of  Pennsyl* 
vania 

MARY  FANTON 

Editor  «  New  Ideas  ”  (Magazine) 

ANNA  McCLURE  SHOLL 
ROLAND  HINTON  PERRY 

Sculptor,  Designer  of  «  Court  of  Neptune,”  Con¬ 
gressional  Dibrary 

CHARLES  E.  LITTLEFIELD 

U.  S.  Congressman 

JULIUS  ST.  GEORGE  TUCKER 

Former  Consul  at  Martinique,  W.  I. 

HENRY  CODMAN  POTTER 

P.  E.  Bishop  of  New  York 

ELSA  BARKER 

Author 

CHARLES  DUDLEY  WARNER 

Essayist  and  Novelist 

WINSTON  CHURCHILL 

Author  and  Novelist 

LOUISE  CHANDLER  MOULTON 

Novelist  and  Poet 

EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 
BEATRICE  HARRADEN 

Novelist 

WILLIAM  CLARK  RUSSELL 

Novelist 

THURLOW  WEED 

Editor  —  Politician 

HENRY  GEORGE 

Political-economist 

RICHARD  HENRY  STODDARD 

Poet  —  Reviewer 

EDMUND  CLARENCE  STEDMAN 

Poet  —  Critic 

THOMAS  COLLIER  PLATT 

U.  S.  Senator  —  President  U.  S.  Express  Com¬ 
pany 

SILAS  WIER  MITCHELL,  M.D. 

Author 

EDMUND  GOSSE 

Poet  —  Essayist  —  Critic 

ROBERT  GRANT 

Author  —  Judge  of  Probate  and  Insolvency 

GEORGE  C.  BARRETT 
MRS.  LELAND  STANFORD 
JOHN  DAVIDSON  ROCKEFELLER 

Capitalist 

MARSHALL  FIELD 

Merchant 

RUSSELL  CONWELL 

•  President  Temple  College 


Vlll 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS 


GEORGE  RAY  WOOD  DEV  ITT 
M.A. 

LELAND  OSSIAN  HOWARD 

Chief  of  Division  of  Entomology  U.  S.  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Agriculture 

THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGIN- 
SON 

Author 

GENERAL  THOMAS  L,  ROSSER 
SAMUEL  M.  BRYAN 
JOHN  W.  GOFF 

CHAUNCEY  MITCHELL  DEPEW 

U.  S.  Senator 

GEORGE  WESTINGHOUSE 

Inventor —  Manufacturer 

STEPHEN  BENTON  ELKINS 

U.  S.  Senator 

JOSEPH  EDWARD  SIMMONS 

Banker 

WILLIAM  CONANT  CHURCH 

Editor —  Author 

ARTHUR  WING  PINERO 

Dramatist 

JOSEPH  HODGES  CHOATE 

U.  S.  Ambassador  to  England 

WILLIAM  VINCENT  ALLEN 

Ex-Senator 

JOHN  W.  KELLER 
JONATHAN  P.  DOLLIVER 

Congressman  —  Eawyer 

THOMAS  LEMUEL  JAMES 

Ex-Postmaster  —  General  —  Banker 

ISAAC  N.  SELIGMAN 

Banker 

ANDREW  CARNEGIE 

Manufacturer 

ROSWELL  P.  FLOWER 

Ex-Governor  of  New  York 

RUFUS  ROCKWELL  WILSON 
CHARLES  BROADWAY  ROUSS 

Merchant 

JOHN  EAMES 

General  Manager,  H.  B.  Claflin  Company 

JOHN  GILMER  SPEED 

Author  —  Journalist 

FRANK  LEE  FARNELL 

SAMUEL  LANGHORNE  CLEMENS 
(Mark  Twain) 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  WARD 

Sculptor 

WILBUR  FISK  HINMAN 
FRANCES  MARION  CRAWFORD 

Novelist 

GEORGE  CLEMENT  PERKINS 

U.  S.  Senator 

JOSEPH  PULITZER 

Proprietor  New  York  «  World  ” 

ANTHONY  BRADY 
THOMAS  HENRY  CARTER 

Ex-Senator 

ALBERT  J.  BEVERIDGE 

U.  S.  Senator 

J.  C.  BAYLIS 

Formerly  Editor  «  Iron  Age  ” 

CHARLOTTE  DOBBINS 
EUGENE  F.  BISBEE 
J.  D.  WARFIELD 
.  ELSIE  HOLFORD 
ORIANA  M.  WILLIAMS 
MARY  ANNA  BROWN 
HENRY  B.  RUSSELL 
MORTIMER  A.  DOWNING 
FREDERICK  A.  SAWYER 
CYRUS  P.  JONES 
E.  E.  HIGGINS 
DUDLEY  A.  SARGENT 

Professor  Physical  Culture,  Harvard  University 

W.  H.  BALLOU 

ROBERT  MACKAY 

LAURA  MORGAN 

MARGARET  ELIZABETH  SANG^ 
STER 

ANITA  NEWCOMBE  MAGEE,  M.D. 
ROSCOE  L.  PETERSON 

U.  S.  N.  A. 

HARRY  C.  LEWIS 

Department  of  Justice 

MARGARET  B.  DOWNING 
HENRY  KETCHAM 
L.  C.  EVANS 

CELESTE  BENNETT  DOBBINS 
REV.  DR.  WILLIAMS 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS 


IX 


MARY  SQUIRE  HINMAN 
MARY  TWOMBLY 
FLORENCE  LIPPINCOTT 

M.  DE  HAAS  BULKLEY 
E.  S.  BASS 

LESLIE  F.  CLEMENS 

E.  L.  SNELL 

J.  P.  COUGHLAN 

MADELEINE  KENDRICK  VAN 
PELT 

HARRY  STEELE  MORRISON 
RUTH  EVERETT 
PAUL  LATZKE 
H.  I.  DODGE 

F.  L.  BLANCHARD 
R.  M.  FULLER 


ELISABETH  SYLVESTER 
AMELIA  EDITH  BARR 

Author 

J.  C.  BROWN 
J.  G.  TUCKER 
FRANCES  TOBEY 
H.  M.  LOWE 
VAN  CULLEN  JONES 
EMILY  C.  SHAW 
J.  C.  RANSOM 
J.  H.  DEMPSEY 
EMMA  P.  HEALD 
C.  H.  CLAUDY 
‘  ELIZA  PITTMAN 

FLORENCE  LOUISE  HART 
E.  L.  BRENIZER 


ETC. 


ETC.  ETC.  ETC. 


XI 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Volume  Xlll 


PAGE 

Abbreviations  Used  by  Bookkeepers .  2 

The  Accountant . • .  4 

Bookkeeping  a  Good  Stepping-Stone .  6 

Arithmetic,  Short  Cuts .  9 

The  Ladder  to  Success  in  Banking . 22 

The  Making  of  a  Banker . 25 

The  Management  of  a  Bank . 28 

Bookkeeping . 38 

Training  Young  Men  for  Business . 56 

Are  the  Chances  for  Young  Men  Less  To-day? . 63 

How  TO  Get  a  Position  and  Keep  It . 70 

The  Young  Man  in  the  Law . 78 

Law  as  a  Part  of  a  Business  Education . 85 

The  Successful  Lawyer  Must  Have  a  Knowledge  of  Business  .  ,  87 

Calendar . ’  .  .  90 

The  Gifts  of  a  Successful  Collector . 108 

Credit  as  Capital . no 

The  Law  of  Business . 122 

To  Succeed  in  Life  Insurance . 136 

Measures . 146 

Mensuration . 151 

Penmanship  . . 167 

Investments  in  Real  Estate  .  179 

Dealing  in  Securities . 191 

Spelling  .  .  .  .  197 

Attainment  of  Success  in  Stenography  .  .  .  213 

Tables . 215 

Touch  Typewriting . 222 

The  Last  Quarter  of  a  Century’s  Trade  Expansion . 228 

Winning  the  World’s  Trade . 235 

Traveling  and  Transferring  Funds . 241 

Value  of  a  Trade . 256 

Wages  Calculated . 260 

What  Shall  I  Do  ? . 261 


XU 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Has  Machinery  Emancipated  Man  from  Drudgery  ? . 273 

A  Twentieth  Century  View  of  the  Labor  Problem . 279 

The  Industrial  Difficulty  and  the  Way  Out  . 282 

Conditions  of  Success  in  Manufacturing . 285 

Woman’s  Rise  to  Legal  Equality . . . 299 

Woman  Under  the  Law . 308 

Words  and  Phrases  of  Foreign  Languages . 317 

Economic  Progress  of  the  Nineteenth  Century . 330 

Opportunities  in  the  Civil  Service . 352 

Civil  Service . 359 

Appointments  to  West  Point  and  Annapolis . 369 

The  Drummer  Who  Succeeds . 374 

Building  and  Loan  Societies . 377 

The  Evolution  of  the  General  Store . . 379 

Selling  Goods  at  Retail . 385 

A  Grocer  and  His  Chances  of  Success . 389 

Baking  as  a  Business  and  a  Trade . 391 

The  Shoe  Trade  and  the  Chances  It  Offers . 393 

T,he  Manufacture  and  the  Sale  of  Hats . 396 

Conditions  in  the  Hardware  Business . 399 

Success  in  Selling  Clothing . 401 

Making  and  Selling  Jewelry . 402 

The  Druggist  and  His  Business . 404 

The  Vocation  of  the  Lumberman . 406 

The  Sailor  and  His  Making . 408 

How  TO  Manage  a  Hotel  Successfully . 410 

The  Contractor  and  the  Builder . 415 

The  City  Carpenter  and  the  Country  Carpenter . 418 

The  Decline  of  the  Blacksmith’s  Trade . 420 

The  Plumbing  Trade . 421 

How  TO  Succeed  as  a  Tailor . 423 

Upholstering  and  Interior  Decorating . 424 

•The  United  States  Soldier  and  His  Career . 425 

A  Career  in  the  Navy . 430 

The  Policeman  .  , . 433 

Civil  Engineering  and  Its  Opportunities . 435 

Mechanical  Engineering  as  a  Profession . 441 

The  Mining  Engineer . ’444 

The  Stationary  Engineer  .  .  .  . . 450 


1 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Accept. —  To  agree  or  promise  to  pay 

Acceptance.  —  The  act  of  receiving  a  bill  of  exchange  in  such 
manner  that  the  acceptor  is  bound  to  pay  it. 

Accessory.  —  One  who  takes  part,  in  a  felonious  act,  but  is  not  a 
principal  in  the  crime.  The  law  in  dealing  with  the  offense  distin¬ 
guishes  between  an  accessory  before  the  fact,  and  an  accessory  after 
the  fact. 

Accommodation. —  A  term  applied  to  designate  a  note  or  endorse¬ 
ment  intended  for  discount,  but  which  has  not  been  given  in  payment 
for  goods. 

Accrue. —  To  accumulate,  as  interest,  profits,  or  losses. 

Accrued  Interest. —  Interest  earned  to  date. 

Account. —  An  entry  in  a  book  or  on  paper,  of  buying  and  selling 
or  of  payments,  services,  etc.,  set  forth  with  names  of  parties  con¬ 
cerned,  dates,  prices,  and  payments. 

f 

Accountant  and  Bookkeeper. —  To  become  a  good  and  competent 
bookkeeper  and  approved  ,(or  chartered)  accountant,  it  is  essential 
that  one  should  have  a  general  professional  knowledge  of  accounting 
business,  have  a  good  elementary  education,  and  some  acquaintance 
with  commercial  law.  In  most  offices  employing  accountants  and 
bookkeepers,  the  applicant  for  a  position  is  expected  to  know,  and  is 
sometimes  tested  in  his  knowledge  of  the  following  subjects:  First, 
Dictation;  second,  English  Grammar;  third.  Arithmetic;  fourth,  Euclid ; 
fifth.  Bookkeeping;  sixth.  Type-writing;  seventh,  Latin;  eighth,  French, 
German,  and  Spanish.  For  the  higher  posts  in  the  profession  a 
knowledge  is  necessary,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing,  of  the  Higher 
Mathematics,  Commercial  Law,  and  the  duties  of  an  Actuary.  In  this 
country,  where  a  young  man,  as  a  rule,  enters  business  life  at  an 
early  age,  he  is  often  poorly  equipped  for  even  the  lower  positions  in 
a  counting  house  and  office ;  such  seeking  these  positions  and  advance¬ 
ment  in  them,  should  endeavor  strenuously  to  fit  themselves  for  what 
13-1 


2 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


may  be  required  of  them,  especially  in  the  elements  and  groundwork 
of  education.  For  mercantile  positions,  applicants  have  often  been 
found  lacking  in  this,  to  their  great  disadvantage,  and  ignorant  of 
even  the  familiar  signs  and  abbreviations  made  use  of  in  bookkeeping 
and  other  commercial  occupations  and  pursuits.  For  the  benefit  of 
such,  are  appended  the  more  common  abbreviations  in  use  by  account¬ 
ants  and  bookkeepers,  to  save  time  and  space  in  their  daily  work:  — 


A 

—  At  (so  much  per  Ib.). 
or  Acc’t. —  Account. 

A.D. —  {Anno  Domini),  In  the 
year  of  our  lyord. 

Agt. —  Agent. 

Am’t. —  Amount. 

Ans. —  Answer. 

Apr.  or  Ap’l.— April. 

Ark. —  Arkansas. 

Ass’t’d. —  Assorted. 

Asst. —  Assistant. 

Aug. —  August. 


B 


Bk. —  Bank. 

Bal. —  Balance. 

B.  Rec. —  Bills  Receivable. 
B.  Pay. —  Bills  Payable. 
Bl.—  Bill  of  lading. 

Bbl. —  Barrel. 

Bds. —  Boards  (binding). 
Bo’t. —  Bought. 

Bro’t. —  Brought. 

Bdls. —  Bundles. 

Bgs. —  Bags. 

Bu. —  Bushel. 

Bis. —  Bales. 

B.  O. —  Buyer’s  option. 
Bxs. —  Boxes. 


c 


Care  of. 

0. —  Cents. 

Cs. —  Cases. 

Cap. —  Capital. 

Cks. — Checks,  casks. 

Chts. —  Chests. 

Chg’d. —  Charged. 

Clo. —  Cloth  (binding). 

Co. — Company. 

Cin. —  Cincinnati. 

C.  O.  D. —  Collect  on  delivery. 
Com.—  Commission. 

Const. —  Consignment. 

Cr.—  Creditor. 

Cts. —  Cents. 

Cwt. —  Hundredweight. 
Cyc.—  Cyclopaedia. 


D 


D. —  Pence. 

D.  or  d. —  Dollar. 

D  or  Dele. — Delete,  erase, cancel. 
U.  G. —  {Dei  Gratia)  By  God’s 
grace. 

D’s. —  Days. 


Dan. —  Daniel. 

Dec. —  December. 

Dep. —  Deposit,  deputy 
Dft.—  Draft. 

Dis. —  Discount. 

Div. —  Dividend. 

Doz. —  Dozen.  - 

Dols. —  Dollars. 

Do.  or  Ditto. —  The  same,  the 
said. 

D. —  Debtor,  doctor. 

Dwt. —  Pennyweight. 


E 

ea. —  Each. 

Ed. —  Editor. 

e.  g. — {exempli  gratia)  For  ex 
ample. 

Etc. —  {Et  ccEtera)  And  the  rest 
and  so  on. 

E.  E. —  Errors  excepted. 

E.  &  O.  E. —  Errors  and  omis¬ 
sions  excepted. 

Edit. —  Edition. 

Exch. —  Exchange. 

Emb’d. —  Embroidered. 

Eng.— English. 

Esq. —  Esquire. 

Ex.— Example. 

Exch. —  Exchange. 

Exec. —  Execiltor. 

Exp.—  Expense  or  expenses. 


F 


Fav. —  Favor. 

Feb. —  February. 

Fig’d. —  Figured. 

For’d. —  Forward. 

Fcp.— Foolscap  (size  of  paper). 
Fla.—  Florida. 

Fol. —  Folio. 

F.  O.  B. —  Free  on  board. 

Fir. —  Firkin. 

Fr, —  Franc. 

Fr’t.—  Freight. 

Ft.—  Feet. 

Fi.  fa. —  {Fieri  facias)  Cause  it 
to  be  done. 

Fur.—  Furlong, 


o 

Ga. —  Georgia. 

Gal. —  Gallon. 

Gr. —  Grain  or  gross. 

G.  P.  O. —  General  post  offic6. 
G.  B.—  Great  Britain. 


H 


Hf.—  Half. 

Hf.-bd. —  Half-bound. 
Hhd. —  Hogshead. 

Hon. —  Honorable. 

H.  P. —  Horse-power. 
Hdkfs. —  Handkerchiefs, 


I 


la.  —  Iowa. 

I.  O.  U. —  I  owe  you. 

I.  B, —  Invoice  book. 

lb.  or  Ibid. —  {Ibidem)  In  the 
same  place. 

Id.  or  Idem. —  The  same. 

Inf.—  {Infra)  Below. 

inst. —  Instant,  present  month. 

Int. —  Interest. 

Intro. —  Introduction. 

Inv. — Invoice,  inventory. 
i.  e. —  {Idest)  That  is. 

III.  —  Illinois. 

Ind. —  Indiana. 

I.  T. —  Indian  Territory. 

Ij. —  Two  (medical). 

IV.  —  Four  or  fourth. 


J 


an, —  January. 

.  or  Jour. —  Journal. 
Jno. —  John. 

Jr. —  Junior. 


K 


Kan. —  Kansas. 

Ky. —  Kentucky. 
Kilo. —  Kilogramme. 


L 


E. —  Book,  lake,  pound. 

Ebs. —  Pounds. 

Eed. —  Eedger. 

E;  F, —  Eedger  folio, 

Eib. —  {Libra)  Pound. 

E.  S. —  {Loco  Sigilli)  The  place 
of  the  seal. 

Et. —  Eieutenant. 

Ea. —  Eouisiana. 

E.  S.  D. —  Pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


3 


M 

M — One  thousand. 

Mfa. —  Months  after  date. 
Mar.  —  March. 

Mass. —  Massachusetts. 

Md. —  Maryland. 

Me. —  Maine. 

Mem. —  Memorandum. 

Mich. —  Michigan. 

Minn. —  Minnesota. 

Miss. —  Mississippi. 

Md’lle. —  Mademoiselle. 

Mine. —  Madame. 

MM. —  Messieurs,  gentlemen. 
Mdse. —  Merchandise. 

Mrs. —  Mistress. 

Mo. —  Month. 

MS. —  Manuscript. 

M  SS. — Manuscripts. 

Mo. —  Missouri. 


N 

N. —  North. 

N.  B. —  {Nota  bene)  Observe, 
mark  well,  note  book. 

N.  O. —  New  Orleans. 

No. —  Number. 

Nov. —  November. 

N.  P. —  Notary  Public. 

N.  C. —  North  Carolina. 

N.  D. —  No  date. 

N.  E. —  New  England. 

Neb. —  Nebra.ska. 

Nem.  Qo'a..—  {Nemine  Contradi- 
cente)  No  one  contradicting. 
Nev. —  Nevada. 

N.  J. —  New  Jersey. 

N.  H. —  New  Hampshire. 

N.  Y.-t-  New  York. 


o 

Oz. —  Ounce. 

O.  I.  B. —  Outward  invoice  book. 
Oct. —  October. 

O. —  Ohio. 

O.  P. —  Out  of  print. 

Or.  — Oregon. 

Obdt. —  Obedient. 


P 


pp.—  Pages. 

P.  B. — Pass-book. 

Par. —  Paragraph. 

Pd. — Paid. 

Pay’t. —  Payment. 

Per. —  By. 

Pr. —  Pair. 

Pcs. —  Pieces. 

P.  S. —  {Post  Scriptum)  Post 
Script. 

Pro  tern. —  {Pro  tempore)TooT  the 
time. 


Prox. —  {Proximo)  In  the  next 
month. 

P.  T.  O. —  Please  turn  over. 

P.  O.  O. —  Post  office  order. 

Pa. —  Pennsylvania. 

Per  An. —  {Per  Annum)  By  the 
year. 

P.  C. —  {Per  centum)  By  the 
hundred,  or  Post  card. 

Penn. —  Pennsylvania. 

Pun. —  Puncheon. 

Pt. —  Pints. 

Prem. —  Premium. 

P.  M. —  {Post  Meridiem)  After¬ 
noon. 

Phila. —  Philadelphia. 


Q 


Qr. —  Quarter. 

Qts. —  Quarts. 

q.  V. —  {Quod  vide)  Which  see. 
Qy.—  Query. 


R 

R. —  {Recipe)  In  prescriptions  — 
Take. 

Ry. —  Railroad  or  Railway. 

R.  I. —  Rhode  Island. 

R.  S.  V.  P. —  (Fr.  Repondez  s' it 
vous  plait)  Please  reply. 

R.  R. —  Railroad. 

Rec’d. —  Received. 

Rec’t. —  Receipt. 

Rt.  Hon. —  Right  Honorable. 


s 

S.  O. —  Seller’s  option. 

Sat. —  Saturday. 

Schr. —  Schooner. 

S.  Caps. —  Small  capitals(  Print). 
Shp’t. —  Shipment. 

Str. —  Steamer. 

Stg.—  Sterling. 

Sh’p. —  Ship. 

Sing. —  Singular. 

Sunds. —  Sundries. 

S.  C. —  South  Carolina. 

S.  D. —  South  Dakota. 

Sup. —  {Supra)  Above. 

Sp.  gr. —  Specific  gravity. 


T 


T.  O. —  Turn  over.  Telegraph 
office. 

Tenn. —  Tennessee. 

Tex. —  Texas. 

Trcs. —  Tierces. 

Treas. —  Treasurer. 

Treas’y. —  Treasury. 


u 

Ult. —  ( Ultimo)  East  month. 

U.  S. —  United  States. 

U.  T. —  Utah  Territory. 

Ut.  Sup. —  {Ut  Supra)  As  above. 


/ 


V 

V. —  Versus. 

Va. —  Virginia. 

Viz.—  (  Videlicet)  Namely , to  wit. 
V.  P. —  Vice-President. 

Vt. —  Vermont. 

Vol. —  Volume 


w 

Wt.— Weight. 

Wis — Wisconsin. 

W.  Va. —  West  Virginia. 

Wy.  T. —  Wyoming  Territory. 
Whf. —  Wharf,  wharfage. 


X 

Xmas. — Christmas. 


Y 

Yds. —  Yards. 

Yr. —  Year. 

Yr. —  Younger. 
Yrs. —  Years. 


SL.Sic.  —  {Et)  and  {Et  Cixtera) 
and  the  rest. 

4to. —  Quarto. 

8vo. —  Octavo. 
i2mo. —  Twelvemo. 

—  Pound. 

$. —  Dollar. 

Pr. —  Per,  by. 

«. —  Ditto  (the  same). 

%. —  Per  cent, 
j. —  Number. 

+. —  Sign  of  Addition. 

— . —  Sign  of  Subtraction. 

X. —  Sign  of  Multiplication. 

H-. —  Sign  of  Division. 

=  . —  Sign  of  Equality. 

^th. —  One-fourth. 

—  One-half. 

i^. —  One  and  three-fourths. 


4 


THE  ACCOUNTANT 

By  CHARLES  WALDO  HASKINS 
Dean  of  New  York  University,  School  of  Commerce,  -  Accounts,  and  Finance 

SciF.NTiFic  accountancy  is  the  hub  of  the  universe  of  commerce, 
trade,  and  finance ;  the  pivot,  as  it  were,  of  the  wheel  of  fortune; 
the  point,  if  truly  centered,  about  which  all  the  business  world  re¬ 
volves  with  the  velocity  and  ease  and  restful  silence  of  a  spinning  top 
when,  as  the  boys  say,  it’s  gone  to  sleep. 

Accountancy  — •  the  higher  accountancy,  if  we  must  thus  distinguish 
it  —  is  a  science,  an  erudition;  and  not,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  a  mere 
collection  of  approximative  and  hardly  certain  rules  indicated  by  obser¬ 
vation  and  intuition,  and  to  be  applied  with  tact  and  wariness.  It  thinks 
out,  and  thus  finds  out,  with  logical  and  mathematical  accuracy,  the  con¬ 
dition  of  affairs  of  any  business  enterprise. 

The  evolution  of  professional  accountancy  has  been  very  slow, 
especially  in  its  beginning;  and  from  time  to  time  such  undesirable 
qualifying  terms  as  expert  have  had  to  be  employed  to  emphasize,  in 
the  popular  mind,  the  distinction  between  a  booxkeeper  and  an  ac¬ 
countant. 

A  law  of  the  state  of  New  York,  dated  1896,  brought  Certified  Public 
Accountancy  into  existence.  By  this  law,  the  Regents  of  the  University 
of  the  State  of  New  York  are  authorized  to  examine  those  who  may  ap¬ 
ply  for  certificates  of  qualification  to  practice  as  public  expert  account¬ 
ants,  and  to  grant  to  those  who  pass  the  examination  satisfactorily,  the 
exclusive  right  to  be  styled  and  known  as  Certified  Public  Accountants, 
and  to  use  the  abbreviation  C.  P.  A.  The  full  C.  P.  A.  certificate  is  ac¬ 
corded  only  to  those  at  least  twenty-five  years  of  age,  of  good  moral  char¬ 
acter,  who  have  had  three  years’  satisfactory  experience  in  the  practice 
of  accounting,  one  of  which  will  have  been  in  the  office  of  an  expert  pub¬ 
lic  accountant.  The  examination  includes  the  theory  of  accounts;  prac¬ 
tical  accounting;  auditing,  and  commercial  law.  Other  states  have 
passed  laws  founded  upon  this  of  the  state  of  New  York;  and  it  is 
everywhere  evident  that  public  sympathy  is  in  favor  of  safeguarding 
and  protecting  our  profession  and  of  maintaining  therein  a  high  stand¬ 
ard  of  excellence. 

It  will  have  been  seen,  from  what  has  been  already  said,  that  account¬ 
ancy  as  a  profession  is  brought  into  very  close  touch  and  relationship 
with  other  important  departments  of  business  activity,  and  that  the  dis¬ 
tinction  between  it  and  one  and  another  of  these  is  not  always  clear  to 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


5 


popular  apprehension.  The  accountant’s  confidential  relation  is  with 
the  administrator  or  proprietor,  and  it  is  only  as  the  representative,  or 
as  the  helper  or  adviser,  of  his  client,  that  he  has  to  do  with  the  func¬ 
tions  of  others.  He  is  not,  for  instance,  the  bookkeeper  of  the  concern ; 
nor  does  the  expression  expert  bookkeeper  describe  his  attitude  or  re¬ 
lation  either  to  that  functionary  or  to  any  corps  of  bookkeepers,  however 
large  and  important;  much  less  to  the  establishment  or  enterprise  in  its 
entirety.  He  is,  however,  a  bookkeeper  in  the  sense  that  he  thoroughly 
understands  the  ins  and  outs  of  that  art;  and  as  the  representative,  for 
the  time,  of  the  business,  he  critically  examines  the  accounts  as  recorded 
in  the  books,  in  order  that  he  may  give  to  his  employer  a  scientific  show¬ 
ing  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  enterprise. 

Following  the  same  line  of  thought,  it  may  be  said  that  the  account¬ 
ant  is  not  the  official  auditor.  Every  great  enterprise  has  its  auditor ; 
and,  in  the  organization  of  railway  and  other  administrations,  there  is 
often  an  important  corps  of  what  are  known  as  traveling  auditors.  The 
accountant  is  called  upon,  whether  these  officials  exist  or  not,  to  make 
an  audit;  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  an  independent  audit.  In  the 
performance  of  this  duty,  he  must  audit  the  auditor’s  accounts;  and  if, 
as  in  one  or  two  recent  cases,  he  proves  that  the  auditor  has  cooked  the 
accounts  to  his  own  pecuniary  advantage,  and  has  been  false  to  his  trust, 
the  independent  accountant,  in  the  exercise  of  his  knowledge  and  skill, 
has  merely  performed  his  part  in  the  discovery  of  the  truth. 

Commercial  law  is  studied  by  the  accountant,  so  that,  in  his  advisory 
capacity,  not  as  a  legal  practitioner,  but  as  merely  knowing  what  is  or  what 
is  not  allowable  in  certain  cases,  he  may  assist  his  employer  in  steering 
clear,  not  only  of  litigation  itself,  but  of  complications  that  may  result  in 
financial  ruin.  And  let  me  say,  in  passing,  that  by  no  other  profession 
is  the  existence  of  our  young  brotherhood  more  heartily  welcomed,  both 
in  Great  Britain  and  —  as  we  become  better  and  better  known  —  in  the 
United  States,  than  by  the  legal  fraternity. 

And  thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  this  great  new  world  of  modern 
monetary  affairs,  the  place  of  public  accountancy  is  close  beside  that  of 
ownership  and  administration ;  and  that  our  allegiance,  as  well  as  our 
responsibility  and  accountability,  is  to  the  business  public  itself.  And 
this  not  in  that  lower  and  unworthy  sense  in  which  a  man  is  sometimes 
said  to  have  been  faithful  ;  for,  without  a  thought  of  credit  or  dis¬ 
credit  to  ourselves,  we  seek  to  find  for  our  clientele  the  precise  condi¬ 
tion  of  affairs,  and  to  show  how  this  condition  bears  upon  the  future. 
And  however  indefinitely  our  work  may  be  modified  by  the  variety  of 
business  requirements,  or  however  we  may  bend  and  seem  to  trench  on 
the  functions  of  this  and  that  official,  our  aim,  the  object  and  end  of  our 
science,  is  still  the  same ;  that  is,  the  discovery  of  truth. 


6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  place  for  accountancy  is  enlarging  and  will  continue  to  expand. 
So  that  we  may  say,  in  the  light  of  the  history  of  our  profession,  that  its 
opportunities  will  be  manifoldly  greater  and  more  numerous  in  the  fu¬ 
ture  than  ever  in  the  past. 


BOOKKEEPING  A  GOOD  STEPPING-STONE 

The  practical  study  of  bookkeeping,  aside  from  its  value  as  a  means 
of  earning  a  living,  will  always  occupy  a  high  place  in  the  scale  of  stud¬ 
ies  designed  to  prepare  young  men  for  the  duties  of  an  active  career, 
for  nothing  is  so  well  calculated  to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  the  stu¬ 
dent  the  importance  of  accuracy,  system,  and  responsibility.  A  full 
knowledge  of  this  subject  will  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  him,  espe¬ 
cially  if  he  chooses  a  business  career. 

But  it  is  not  enough  that  a  bookkeeper  be  competent  to  continue  a 
set  of  books  already  started ;  he  must  be  able  to  meet  new  conditions, 
and,  if  necessary,  open  a  new  set  of  books  to  meet  those  conditions. 
The  keynote  to  success  in  this  business  is  accuracy.  No  matter  how 
small  a  mistake  may  be,  it  must  sooner  or  later  be  discovered  and  cor¬ 
rected  before  the  bookkeeper  can  proceed  with  his  work;  the  skilled 
bookkeeper  soon  learns  that  it  is  much  easier  to  avoid  than  to  correct 
errors.  Another  essential  is  neatness.  Business  men  insist  that  their 
books  be  kept  neatly  as  well  as  correctly.  Speed  is  desirable,  but  must 
be  attempted  only  after  the  student  has  become  accurate  and  neat. 
These  qualifications  will  enable  any  man  to  fill  any  position  which  may 
be  offered  to  him  in  the  bookkeeping  line. 

As  a  life-work,  bookkeeping  is  not  attractive ;  but,  as  a  means  to  an 
end,  it  offers  many  advantages.  Every  young  man  who  accepts  a  posi¬ 
tion  as  bookkeeper,  should  endeavor  to  use  it  as  a  stepping-stone  rather 
than  to  make  it  a  permanent  calling.  The  reason  why  there  are  so  many 
bookkeepers  who  command  small  salaries,  and  whose  places  can  be  filled 
at  a  few  moments’  notice,  is  that  so  large  a  number  of  bookkeepers 
seem  to  be  satisfied  with  their  lot  in  life ;  their  interest  in  the  business 
ends  with  a  correct  trial  balance.  They  are  as  accurate,  and  at  the 
same  time  as  mechanical,  as  a  cash  register.  This  is  the  greatest  danger 
connected  with  the  position  of  bookkeeper. 

The  ceaseless  repetition  and  the  monotonous  round  which  constitute  a 
day’s  work,  tend  to  limit  the  imagination  and  dull  the  ambition,  and  it  is 
only  when  these  faculties  are  stimulated  and  active  that  success  is  possi¬ 
ble.  If  a  bookkeeper  performs  his  duties  with  promptness  and  accuracy, 
he  will  find  time  to  learn  every  detail  of  the  business.  Through  the 
medium  of  the  accounts,  he  may  become  familiar  with  the  duties  of  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


7 


credit  man,  the  financial  standing  of  the  customers,  the  prices,  discounts 
and  cost  of  goods,  and,  if  he  broadens  his  mind  and  enlarges  his  capacity 
for  the  service,  he  will  acquire  a  grasp  of  the  business  which  he  will 
surely  find  opportunities  to  use  to  advantage. 

The  examples  of  successful  men  who  have  started  as  bookkeepers  are 
sufficiently  numerous  to  fill  many  volumes.  One  of  the  favorite  pre¬ 
cepts  of  one  of  these  men,  a  banker,  is  this:  Do  not  get  into  a  rut;  that 
is  the  greatest  pitfall  for  a  clerk.  The  man  who  takes  no  interest  in  the 
banking  business  outside  of  his  cage,  will  never  be  successful!,  — and  his 
own  life  is  an  example,  not  only  of  the  truth  of  this,  but  of  the  possi¬ 
bilities  that  lie  within  the  reach  of  every  ambitious,  intelligent  voung 
man  who  is  willing  to  work. 


Account  Current. — A  detailed  statement  of  all  debits  and  credits 
of  an  open  account  between  two  persons. 

Accounting. —  The  science  or  profession  of  the  orderly  recording 
of  business  transactions. 

Account  Sales. —  A  statement  of  merchandise  sold  on  commission. 

Actuary. — One  who  is  skilled  in  the  management  of  joint  stock 
associations,  or  insurance  companies. 

Address,  Forms  of. —  The  titles  or  ceremonious  terms  to  be  used  in 
addressing  written  communications  to  people  of  high  or  official 
position.  Usage  in  this  country  has  sanctioned  the  employment  of  the 
following  modes  of  address:  His  Excellency^  The  President  of  the 
United  Stfites.  Custom  has  also  made  proper  the  use  of  the  prefix 
His  Excellency  when  addressing  governors  of  states,  and  ambassadors 
or  ministers  of  the  United  States  abroad.  In  conversation,  or  in 
formal  oral  address,  the  term  Mr.  President  is  used  by  all  to  the  head 
of  the  nation,  save  by  the  President’s  personal  or  intimate  friends. 
The  Vice-president  is  addressed  by  letter  as  The  Honorable^  The 
Vice-president  of  the  United  States^  or  The  Hon.  — - ,  Vice-presi¬ 

dent  of  the  United  States.  When  the  latter  is  acting  as  ex-officio 
presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  he  is  addressed  by  the  senators  as  Mr. 
President.  Cabinet  officers,  senators,  and  representatives  of  the  United 
States,  judges  of  state  and  federal  courts,  and  consuls,  are  all  entitled 
to  the  prefix  Honorable.^  as  The  Hon.  Senator  S.  M.  Culloin^  The  Hon. 
Mr.  fustic e.,  or  The  Hon.  Judge  Day.  Custom  also  permits  the  use  of 
Honorable  to  mayors  of  cities,  as  The  Hon.  Mayor  Low.,  or  The  Hon. 
Seth  Low,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

For  church  dignitaries  the  terms  of  address  vary  somewhat  with 
the  denomination.  In  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  the  bishop  is 
addressed  The  Right  Rev.  - ;  in  the  Methodist  Church  as  The 


8 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Rev.  Bishop  - .  Clergymen  take  the  title  The  Rev..,  or  simply 

Rev.,  adding  any  collegiate  degrees  to  which  they  may  be  entitled, 
such  as  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  etc.,  or  in  the  case  of  a  clergyman  who 
has  a  doctorate  degree,  he  may  be  addressed  simply:  The  Rev. 

Di'. - .  It  is  bad  form,  it  may  be  added,  to  speak  or  write  of  a 

clergyman  as  Rev.  Blake,  Rev.  Morga^i,  etc.  If  his  Christian  name  is 
not  known,  use  invariably  the  prefix  Mr.  (Mister),  as  the  Rev.  Mr. 

Blake,  Archbishops  are  addressed:  The  Most  Rev. - , 

D.  D.  (or  whatever  degree  possessed  of ) ;  while  cardinals  are  addressed : 

His  Eminence  -  — ^ - .  Physicians  and  surgeons  are  addressed: 

Dr. - ,  or  John  Abernethy ,  Esq.,  M.D.  Lawyers  or  private 

gentlemen  may  be  addressed  either  -  - ,  Esq.,  or  plain 

Mr. - . 

Where  husband  and  wife  are  both  addressed,  it  is  proper  to  give 
the  title  of  the  former,  followed  by  the  word  Mrs.,  using  the  given 
name  or  initials  of  the  husband;  thus:  His  Excellency,  The  President, 
and  Mrs.  Roosevelt;  Governor  and  Mrs.  Chas.  H.  Brown;  or  The  Hon. 
and  Mrs.  John  Bigelow.  In  the  case  of  scholastic  titles  or  those  con¬ 
ferred  by  universities,  they  usually  precede  the  name,  thus:  ProJ. 
William  Jones;  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  or  may  follow  the  name,  thus: 

Chauncey  Depew,  Esq.,  D.  C.  L.  (Doctor  of  Civil  Law),  or - , 

Esq.,  LL.D.  (Doctor  of  Laws). 

Adjustment. —  A  settlement  of  an  account  as  of  a  loss  by  fire  or 
storm. 

Administrator.  —  One  authorized  by  a  court  to  have  charge  of  the 
goods  and  estate  of  another  who  dies  without  a  will. 

Ad  Valorem. —  According  to  value.  Duties  imposed  upon  the  value 
of  imported  articles  and  not  estimated  by  weight  or  number. 

Advances. —  Goods,  supplies,  money,  or  endorsement,  furnished  on 
a  contract  before  any  equivalent  is  received. 

Advice. —  Notice  sent  to  a  person  concerning  drafts  upon  him,  that 
he  may  be  ready  to  pay  them. 

Affidavit. —  A  written  declaration  under  oath. 

Agent. —  One  employed  to  act  for  another;  a  deputy. 

Agio. —  The  difference  in  value  between  metallic  and  paper  money. 

Allonge. —  A  small  piece  of  paper  attached  to  a  note  or  draft, 
upon  which  to  write  endorsements  when  the  original  document  will 
hold  no  more. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


9 


Arbitrage. —  The  act  of  buying  stock  in  one  market  and  selling 
in  another. 

/ 

Arbitration. —  The  determination  of  a  cause  of  dispute  between 
parties  in  controversy,  by  representatives  chosen  by  the  respective 
parties. 

ARITHMETIC.— 

Being  the  foundation  of  all  mathematical  computation,  arithmetic 
has  become  a  prominent  factor  in  nearly  every  calling,  not  excepting 
even  those  that  have  to  do  with  tjie  most  advanced  calculations,  or 
that  have  no  direct  connection  with  mathematical  subjects.  Especially 
in  the  business  world  do  we  find  a  constant  demand  for  accuracy  and 
speed,  for  there  it  is  the  results  of  many  calculations  that  largely 
control  the  exchange  of  the  various  commodities.  Nine  out  of  every 
ten  advertisements  for  office  assistants  contain  the  sentence,  Must 
be  quick  at  figures.  This  means  more  than  the  words  themselves 
indicate.  It  means,  must  first  be  accurate,  must  always  get  the  right 
result,  and  be  sure  that  it  is  right.  It  also  means  that  the  calculation 
must  be  performed  quickly,  and  by  the  clearest  and  most  direct 
methods. 

In  discussing  the  best  ways  of  fitting  one’s  self  to  meet  these 
requirements,  it  will  be  taken  for  granted'  that  all  are  acquainted 
with  the  ordinary  arithmetical  methods,  and  reference  will  be  made 
only  to  short  processes,  by  means  of  which  accurate  results  may  be 
quickly  secured.  In  order  to  derive  the  most  benefit  from  these,  you 
should  first  acquaint  yourself  with  the  method,  and  when  once  this 
has  been  done  speed  and  accuracy  can  be  acquired  only  by  practice. 

It  is  easily  possible  to  read  figures  as  one  does  words,  not  by 
first  understanding  the  parts  and  then  combining  them,  but  by  com¬ 
prehending  the  whole,  as  though  it  were  itself  a  part.  Expert 
musicians  read  whole  musical  phrases  in  this  way,  not  note  by  note, 
but  a  whole  group  of  notes  at  a  time.  And  this  is  the  result  of 
regular  practice  each  day;  in  order  that  the  practice  may  produce 
the  best  results  it  must  be  regular. 

Addition. —  It  has  been  said  that  nine-tenths  of  all  the  arithmetic 
used  in  the  commercial  world  consists  of  addition.  We  see  from  this 
statement  how  necessary  it  is  that  every  one  should  be  able  to  add 
rapidly  and  accurately.  There  need  be  but  little  mental  exertion  in 
adding  a  column  of  figures.  Let  your  eyes  do  the  work,  and  instead 
of  computing  the  result  of  each  union  of  two  or  more  of  the  figures 
in  a  column  learn  to  know  their  sum  as  soon  as  you  see  them.  In 
practising  the  addition  of  long  columns,  group  the  figures  in  twos  or 
threes,  just  as  the  letters  of  a  long  word  are  grouped  in  syllables. 


lO 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Learn  to  know  9  and  8  make  seventeen,  just  as  readily  as  that  9 
times  8  is  72,  and  with  no  greater  mental  effort.  Repeat  mentally 
the  result  of  each  of  the  separate  additions  in  a  column,  but  not  the 
process  by  which  that  result  was  obtained.  In  the  accompanying 
example  begin  at  the  bottom  of  the  right-hand  column  and  read  as 
follows : — 

II,  28,  40,  50.  Now  after  writing  zero  below  the  middle 
line, begin  at  the  bottom  of  the  middle  column,  and  adding 
the  5  that  is  carried,  proceed  in  the  same  manner  as 
before.  The  results  this  time  will  be,  16,  26,  35,  48, 
In  the  same  way  the  left-hand  column  reads,  9,  21,  38, 
47.  It  is  not  necessary  to  adhere  to  the  grouping  by 
twos,  but  as  proficiency  is  acquired  by  practice,  groups 
of  three  or  more  may  be  handled  just  as  readily.  After 
practising  this  method  for  a  month  you  will  be  sur- 


3 

6 

9 

8 


9 

4 

6 

3 


4  2 
8  8 


2 

3 


6 

5 


8 

2 

5 

7 

9 

8 

2 

9 


50 


40 


28 


1 1 


47  8  o 

prised  at  the  progress  made  in  both  speed  and  accuracy. 


26 

35 

42 

16 

39 

158 

815 

62X 

498 

761 

2697 

next 


4967 

5832 

9476 

8239 


To  add  two  columns  at  the  same  time  get  separate  results  as 
follows:  39+6-i-io-(-2+4o+5+3o+6+2o=i58.  Combine  these  mentally 
without  regarding  the  plus  sign,  and  proceed  thus:  39,  45,  55, 
57,  97,  102,  132,  138,  158.  After  practising  upon  a  great  number 
of  examples,  which  you  can  make  up  for  yourself,  you  can  com¬ 
bine  three  columns  in  the  same  way  as  in  the  accompanying 
illustration :  — 

761  +  8  4-  90  +  400  +  3  +  20  +  600  +  5  +  10  +  800  =  2697. 

769,  859,  1259,  1262,  1282,  1882,  1887,  1897,  2697. 

Where  an  accountant’s  attention  is  likely  to  be  distracted 
and  he  is  compelled  to  leave  his  work  unfinished,  the  following 
plan  will  be  found  helpful  and  time-saving  in  four-column 
addition :  Add  the  thousands  first,  and  set  down  the  result ; 
add  the  hundreds,  and  set  the  amount  one  place  to  the 
right;  do  the  same  with  the  tens  and  units.  Then  add  the  results. 
Thus:— 

A  variation  of  this  method  is  to  begin  with 
the  units  and  set  each  result  one  place  to  the 
left  as  in  the  accompanying  example.  This  same 

method  may  be  used  in  the  addition  of  any  _ 

28514  28514  number  of  columns.  28514 

The  great  advantage  of  these  methods  is  that  one 
does  not  have  to  remember  what  to  carry,  and  the  work  may  be 
resumed  after  being  interrupted. 

In  very  long  columns  of  figures  it  is  often  helpful  to  drop  the 
tens,  and  make  a  dot  opposite  the  figure  at  which  the  ten  is  dropped. 
The  result  will  be  found  by  counting  all  the  dots  as  tens  when  the 


26 

23 

19 

24 


24 

19 

23 

26 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


1 1 

column  is  finished,  and  adding  to  this  sum  the  number  less  than  ten 
that  remains.  Thus:  — 

Drop  ten,  keep  7,  and  add  40. 

Drop  ten  and  go  on  with  9. 

n  n  a  n  ( (  u  I- 


H  (<  H  U  ii  n 


A  good  method  of  proving  a  problem  in  addition  is  to  begin  the 
addition  of  each  column  at  the  top  and  add  downward,  thus  avoiding 
a  repetition  of  any  error  that  may  have  been  made  in  the  first  addi¬ 
tion.  It  is  even  safer  to  separate  the  columns  into  two  parts,  and 
after  adding  each  of  these  to  combine  the  results.  The  sum  thus  ob¬ 
tained  should  correspond  with  that  found  in  the  original  addition. 

Another  method  of  proving  the  work  is  as  follows:  — 


83  Drop  ten,  keep  3,  and  add  60 


79 


56 

i  1 

( ( 

and 

go 

on 

with 

42 

39 

t  i 

i  i 

( ( 

( ( 

i  ( 

( ( 

28 

( < 

( ( 

( ( 

<  i 

( i 

( < 

16 

<  ( 

i  ( 

i  ( 

( i 

i  1 

( ( 

82 

T  n 

a 

a 

( i 

a 

13 

16 


473 


83625 

94327 

81432 

65986 


Add  across  8  +  3  +  6  +  2  +  5  =  24 
“  “  9  +  4  +  3  +  2  +  7  =  25 

“  “  8+ 1  +  4  +  3  +  2  =  18 

“  “  6  +  5  +  9  +  8  +  6  =  34 


325370 

n  a 


H  li 


lOI 

3  +  2  +  5  +  3  +  7+  o=  20 
2  I 


2+0  =  2  and  I  +  o  +  I  =  2 


As  the  sum  of  the  digits  in  the  result  of  the  eross  addition  is 
equal  to  the  sum  of  the  digits  in  the  amount,  the  accuracy  of  the 
work  is  proved. 

Sometimes  it  happens  that  two  columns  of  figures  that  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  exactly  alike  cannot  be  made  to  give  the  same  total.  In 
that  case  subtract  the  less  of  the  two  from  the  greater,  and  if  the 
remainder  is  equally  divisible  by  9  some  of  the  figures  have  been 
transposed  in  copying.  If  not  divisible  by  9  then  wrong  figures  havQ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


1 2 

been  copied  or  there  is  a  mistake  in  the  addition  of  one  of  the  col¬ 
umns.  For  example:  — 


(■) 

(^) 

836 

863 

724 

724 

598 

598 

362 

362 

2520 

2547 

2520 

9)27 

3 

Since  there  is  no  remainder,  some  of  the  figures  must  have  been 
transposed,  and  on  examination  we  find  that  the  figures  836  in  col¬ 
umn  I  have  been  changed  to  863  in  column  2. 

Multiplication. —  Multiplication  maybe  considered  merely  a  short 
way  of  adding.  Instead  of  adding  5  and  5  and  5,  we  multiply  5  by  3, 
which  is  a  shorter  and  simpler  way  of  getting  the  same  result.  In 
the  operation  of  multiplying,  as  in  that  of  adding,  we  must  keep  our 
minds  on  results  and  not  on  methods.  Instead  of'  thinking  that  8 
times  8  are  64,  we  say  mentally,  8,  8,  64.  In  this  way  we  not  only 
arrive  at  the  result  in  the  simplest,  quickest,  and  most  direct  manner, 
but  we  also  give  our  memories  a  very  beneficial  kind  of  training. 
One  of  the  most  valuable  aids  in  all  kinds  of  multiplication  is  a  thor¬ 
ough  knowledge  of  the  multiplication  tables.  These  should  be  written 
and  rewritten,  and  practised  mentally,  until  the  product  of  the  two 
numbers  is  known  just  as  quickly  and  with  as  little  thought  as  the 
familiar  words  spelled  by  certain  letters.  These  tables  should  not  be 
limited  to  the  first  twelve  figures,  as  is  usually  the  case,  but  should 
include  all  the  numbers  up  to  twenty.  This  gives  us  an  easy  method 
of  multiplying  any  number  by  a  second  number  that  is  less  than  20. 
Suppose  for  example,  that  we  are  to  multiply  437  by  16.  We  proceed 
as  follows:  16  x  7  =  1 12,  carry  ii  ;  16  x  3  =  48,  48  +  1 1  =  59,  carry  5  ; 

16  16x4  =  64  +  5  =  69.  After  a  little  practice  it  will  be  as  easy  to 

multiply  by  any  number  between  10  and  20  as  by  those  under 
10.  This  method  may  also  be  employed  with  numbers  greater 
than  20,  but  more  practice  will  be  required  than  in  the  case  of  the 
smaller  numbers.  In  multiplying  by  numbers  containing  three  or 
more  figures,  when  any  two  adjoining  ones  are  less  than  20,  treat 
these  two  as  a  single  number,  and  place  the  units  figure  of  the  sec- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


13 


ond  partial  product  under  the  hundreds  figure  of  the  first  partial 
product,  thus:  — 

13  +  4  =  52,  carry  5;  13x3  =  39,  39  +  5  =  44,  carry  4;  13x7=91, 
91  +  4  =  95^  carry  9;  13  x  5  =  65,  65  +  9  =  74.  16  X4  =  64,  carry  6; 

16  X  3  =  48,  48  +  6  =  54,  carry  5;  16x7  =  112,  112  +  5  =  11 7,  carry 
ii;  16x5=80,  80+11=91. 

Another  method  of  multiplying  by  any  number  between 
20  and  30  is  as  follows:  Multiply  each  figure  of  the  multi¬ 
in  succession  by  the  units  figure  of  the  multiplier,  and  add 
is  carried,  but  also  double  the  next  right-hand  fig- 


5734 

1613 

74542 

91744 


9248942 
plicand 

not  only  what 

lire  of  the  multiplicand:  multiply  the  first  figure  of  the  multiplicand  by 
the  tens  figure  of  the  multiplier,  and  add  only  what  is  carried,  thus:  — 
8  X  6  =  48,  carry  4;  8x9  =  72,  72  +  4  +  (2  x  6)  =88,  carry  8 ;  8  x  4  = 
32,  32  +8+(2  X  9)=  58,  carry  5;  8x3=24,  24  +  5  +  (2  x  4)  =  37, 
carry  3;  2x3  =  6,  6  +  3  =  9.  This  method  ma}^  also  be  employed 
in  multiplying  by  numbers  between  30  and  40,  by  adding  three 
the  next  right-hand  figure  of  the  multiplicand,  instead  of  its 


3496 

28 


97888 

times 
double ;  thus :  — 
697  2x7  =  14, 


carry  i;  2x9  =  18,  18  +  i  +  (3  x  7)  =  40,  carry  4;  2x6 
32  =12,  i2  +  4+(3  X9)  =  43,  carry  4;  3x6  =  18,  18  +  4  =  22.  To 

multiply  by  any  number  of  9’s,  annex  to  the  multiplicand  as 
22304  ciphers  as  there  are  9’s  in  the  multiplier,  and  from  the 

number  thus  obtained  subtract  the  multiplicand.  Thus  in  the  accom¬ 
panying  example,  since  there  are  three  9’s  in  the  multiplier,  add  three 
ciphers  to  the  multiplicand,  and  subtract  the  multiplicand  from  the 
amount  thus  found:  — 

35749  By  the  method  of  cross  multiplication^^  two  large  num- 

999  bers  may  be  multiplied  together  in  a  single  line.  Write 

the  multiplier  below  the  multiplicand,  as  in  ordinary  multi- 
35749000  .  ,  ^ 

35749  plication,  and  proceed  as  follows: — ■ 

- 3x4=12;  write  down  the  2  as  in  the  units  figure  of  the 

357 1325 1  product  and  carry  i.  (3  x  3)  +  (2  x  4) +the  i  carried  =18; 


34 

23 

782 

237 

24 

5688 

234 

346 

80964 


write  8  as  the  tens  figure  of  the  product  and  carry  i ;  (2x3)  +  ! 
=  7,  which  completes  the  product.  In  multiplying  a  number  of 
three  figures  by  one  containing  only  two,  proceed  in  a  similar 
manner,  thus:  — 

4  X  7  =  28,  write  8  and  carry  2;  (4X3)+(2X7)+2  =  28,  carry  2 ; 
(4x2)+ (2x3) +  2  =  1 6,  carry  i;  (2  x  2)  +  1  =  5,  which  completes 
the  product.  Two  numbers,  each  containing  three  figures,  are 
treated  in  a  similar  manner,  thus:  — 

6  X  4  =  24,  write  4  and  carry  2;  (6x3)  +  (4X4)  +  2  =  36,  carry  3; 
(6x2) +  (3x4) +  (4x3) +3  =  39,  carry  3;  (4  x  2)  +  (3  x  3)  +  3  =  20, 
carry  2  ;  (3  x  2)  +  2  =  8,  which  completes  the  product 


14 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


An  even  easier  method  than  the  one  that  has  just  been  explained 
is  the  sliding  method,  which,  in  reality,  is  nothing  more  or  less 
than  cross  multiplication.  It  is  better  for  use  with  large  numbers, 
however,  and  the  mental  operations  can  be  performed  with  less  diffi¬ 
culty  than  in  cross  multiplication.^^  After  one  has  become  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  sliding  method,'^  by  constant  practice  he  will  be 

able  to  perform  large  operations  with  astonishing  ease  and  quickness. 
The  best  way  of  learning  this  method  is  as  follows:  Suppose  you 
wish  to  multiply  735  by  234.  Write  the  multiplicand  and  the  multi¬ 
plier  on  separate  pieces  of  paper  with  the  figures  of  the  multiplicand 
arranged  in  reverse  order;  'thus,  537.  Now  place  the  multiplier 
directly  beneath  the  multiplicand  so  that  the  4  will  come  under  the 
5  thus:  537  Obtain  the  first  figure  of  the  product,  o,  by  multi- 

234  plying  the  5  by  the  4,  carry  2.  Now  slide  the  upper 

^  paper  to  the  left  so  that  4  will  come  under  3,  and  3 

under  5,  thus:  537  Obtain  the  second  figure  of  the 

product  thus:  (4  x  3)  +  (3  x  5) -f-  ^34  2  carried  =  29,  write  9  as 

the  tens  figure  of  the  product  and  carry  2.  Again  slide  the 

upper  paper  to  the  left  so  that  2  falls  under  5,  3  under  3,  and 

4  under  7,  thus:  537  Obtain  the  third  figure  of  the  product,  thus: 
(4X7)-i-(3X3)+  234  (2  X  5)  4-  the  2  carried  =  49,  write  9  as  the  hun¬ 
dreds  figure  of  the  product  and  carry  4.  Slide  the  paper  again 

as  before  and  2  will  come  under  3,  and  3  under  7,  thus:  537 

You  now  get  (3  x  7) +(2  x  3) +4  =  31;  write  i  as  the  thousands  234 


figure  of  the  product  and  carry  3 
and  2  will  be  under  7,  thus:  537 
17.  This  completes  the  234 
You  will  see  from  the 
in  exactly  the  same  way 


1990 


17 1 990 


Slide  the  paper  again 
You  now  get  (2  x  7)  -f  3  = 
product. 

foregoing  that  the  figures  are  used 


as  in  cross  multiplication.^^  The 
sliding  method,  however,  saves  the  mental  labor  of  remembering 
the  different  positions  of  the  figures,  which  is  easy  only  after  long 
practice.  When  you  have  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  sliding 
method  by  the  use  of  the  slide,  you  may  proceed  without  it  and  write 
the  multiplier  below  the  multiplicand  on  the  same  piece  of  paper, 
as  in  ordinary  multiplication.  The  following  is  an  example  worked 
in  this  manner,  in  which  only  the  different  results  are  indicated: 

To  multiply  3547  by  325,  reverse  the  multiplicand  and  pro¬ 
ceed  as  follows :  5  ><7  =  35  ;  (S  x  4)  +  (2  x  7)  +  3  =  37  ;  (5  x  5)  +(2 

X  4) +  (3x7) +  3  =  57;  (5x3) +  (2x5) +  (3x4) +  5  =  42;  (2x3) +(3 

X5)  +  4  =  25;  (3X3)  +  2  =  ii. 

To  prove  a  problem  in  multiplication  divide  the  product  by  the 
multiplicand,  and  if  the  quotient  gives  the  multiplier  the  multipli¬ 
cation  is  correct.  A  second  method  is  similar  to  that  employed  in 


7453 

325 

1152775 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


15 


proving  addition  by  the  cross  addition  of  the  digits  in  the  numbers. 
Multiply  the  sum  found  by  the  cross  addition  of  the  digits  of  the 
multiplicand  by  that  found  in  a  similar  way  from  the  multiplier;  add 
the  digits  of  this  product  and  the  sum  should  be  the  same  as  the 
sum  of  the  digits  in  sum  found  by  the  cross  addition  of  the  digits  of 
the  original  product  of  the  multiplication.  Thus:  — 

234  2  +  3  +  4  =  9  1+4  +  5  =  10  Q  +  o  =  9 

145  - 

-  90 

33930  (34-3  +  9  +  3)  annex  0=180  i +8  +  0  =  9 

Multiplication  by  Aliquot  Parts. —  In  commercial  arithmetic  it  is 
very  important  that  one  should  have  a  perfect  knowledge  of  aliquot 
parts  of  10,  100,  and  1000,  and  of  its  practical  use.  Suppose,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  that  you  wish  to  multiply  by  3^.  Now  since  3^=-!^,  you 
may  multiply  by  10  and  divide  by  3.  Since  33^=-i|-^,  to  multiply 
by  33^  you  may  multiply  by  100  and  divide  by  3.  You  will  find 
that  in  a  similar  manner  many  whole  and  mixed  numbers  may  be 
used  in  fractional  form,  and  a  large  amount  of  time  saved  thereby. 

Following  is  a  partial  list  of  such  numbers:  — 


T  1  10 

^9  - 

=  -T- 

125  =1-0/- 

T  1  _  10 

■*^4  -  8 

i6|=ir 

150  =H- 

t3  _  10 

ly - -j- 

-  c  100 

‘^0  =  4 

i66|  =  1-0/1 

T  2  10 

= 

^ ,  1 _ 100 

33^ —  ^ 

175  =-f- 

^1  _  10 

^2  - 

37y  —  —g— 

250  =  1-0/1 

,1  _  10 

50 

275  —1-1/0 

c  _ JL0_ 

5  —  2 

1  _  5  0  0 

^^2  -  8 

-,-7^1  _  10  0  0 

333'3‘ —  3 

^1 _ 100 

66|  =  lfA 

375  =-^Y- 

«  1  _  10  0 

75 

450 

j  r,l  _  10  0 

625  =1-0/1 

875 

Subtraction. —  Since 

subtraction  is 

concerned  with  only  two  num- 

bers  there  is  no  way  ' 

of  shortening 

the  operation  appreciably.  In 

mental  subtraction,  such  as  in  making  change,  it  is  sometimes  conven¬ 
ient  to  subtract  the  tens  figure  first,  and  then  the  units.  Suppose, 
for  example,  that  you  wish  to  return  change  from  a  dollar  tendered 
in  payment  for  an  article  that  cost  32  cents.  Subtract  3  from  9, 
leaving  6,  and  2  from  10,  leaving  8.  In  this  way  you  find  that  you 
must  return  68  cents  in  change.  Of  course  you  would  have  obtained 
the  sanie  result  if  you  had  subtracted  the  2  first,  but  the  other  method 
is  considered  by  many  to  be  preferable. 

Division. —  There  are  few  methods  of  shortening  the  operation  of 
division  that  are  at  all  practical,  for  though  there  are  numerous  so 


i6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

I 


called  short  cuts,^^  their  complexity  deprives  many  of  them  of  utility. 
After  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  multiplication  tables  for 
the  numbers  up  to  20,  it  will  be  found  a  rapid  and  convenient/ method 
when  dividing  by  one  of  these  numbers  to  perform  the  operation  by 
short  division. Thus:  14)  289756947  Divide  through  by  14  as 

20696924^^  though  it  were  a  number 
of  one  digit,  omit  the  partial  subtractions,  and  record  only  the  quo¬ 
tient  and  the  remainder.  When  possible  to  do  so  it  is  sometimes 
convenient  to  separate  the  divisor  into  factors,  and  proceed  as  follows: 
To  divide  485923  by  96,  divide  96  into  its  factors  12  and  8  and  divide 
first  by  12,  then  by  8:  — 

12)  485923 

8)  40493.... 7  remainder 
5061.... 5  “ 

There  is  a  remainder  left  after  each  division,  but  the  true  remainder 
is  (12x5)4-7  =  67,  hence  the  result  of  the  division  is  5o6i-||-. 

One  of  the  best  methods  of  shortening  the  operation  of  division  is 
by  the  use  of  aliquot  parts  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  in  multi¬ 
plication.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  3mu  wish  to  divide  896745  by 


i66|. 


Now  i66-| 


1000 

“6”’ 


hence 


896745 

i66| 


896745  1000  896745  X  6 
I  6  I  X  1000’ 


You  therefore,  multiply  by  6  and  point  off  three  places  of  decimals, 
the  latter  being  equivalent  to  division  by  1000.  Thus  the  result  is:  — 


896745  ^ 

I  X 


6  5^80470 

- - =  5380.47. 

1000  1000 


In  a  somewhat  similar  manner  we  may  treat  the  aliquot  parts  as 
decimals  instead  of  fractions:  thus  in  the  foregoing  example  instead 
of  multiplying  by  the  fraction  the  same  result  would  be  obtained 

by  multiplying  by  the  decimal  .006.  This  applies  to  all  of  the 

numbers  given  in  the  table  of  aliquot  parts  under  the  subject  of 

Multiplication. 

The  following  hints  regarding  the  divisibility  of  various  numbers 
will  be  found  useful :  — 

Any  number  is  divisible  by  2  if  its  last  digit  is  even. 

Any  number  is  divisible  by  3  if  the  sum  of  its  digits  is  divisible 

by  3. 

Any  number  is  divisible  by  4  if  it  ends  with  two  or  more  ciphers, 
or  if  the  number  expressed  by  its  two  rightrhand  figures  is  divisible 
by  4. 

Any  number  is  divisible  by  five  if  its  right-hand  figure  is  a  5 
or  a  o. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


17 


To  multiply  together  two  mixed  numbers  in  which  the  whole 
numbers  are  the  same,  and  the  sum  of  the  two  fractions  equal  i, 
as  in  y-J  and  yf,  multiply  the  whole  numbers  by  the  next  higher 
whole  numbers,  and  to  this  product  annex  the  product  of  the  fractions. 
Thus.  7ix  7|=  (7  x8)  +  (ixf)  =  56|. 

To  multiply  together  any  two  numbers,  each  of  which  contains 
the  fraction  add  to  the  product  of  the  whole  numbers  half  their 
sum  plus  Thus:  6ix8-i-  =  (6x8)+i(6  +  8)+^=55j.  In  a  similar 
manner  to  multiply  together  two  numbers  each  containing  add  to 
the  product  of  the  whole  numbers  f  of  their  sum  plus  Thus: 

6|-x8f=(6x8)+f  (6  +  8)  4-y^^  =59yV-  ^  similar  method  may  be  em¬ 

ployed  in  all  cases  where  the  fractions  are  alike. 

Although  the  foregoing  methods  will  often  be  found  useful,  the 
best  general  method  for  multiplying  mixed  numbers  is  to  reduce 
them  to  improper  fractions  and  multiply  by  cancellation.  Thus: 


15 

60 


8^  X  14-5-  = - X 


17 

111 

8 

2 


Decunals. —  It  often  happens  that  in  operations  involving  decimals 
the  result  is  required  to  be  correct  only  to  two  or  three  decimal 
places,  hence  it  is  advisable  to  avoid  work  that  gives  more  decimals 
than  are  required.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  you  wish  to  find  to 
the  nearest  cent  the  cost  of  26^  bushels  of  wheat  at  62^  cents  a 
bushel.  Write  the  multiplier  with  the  figures  reversed  under  the 
multiplicand  so  that  the  units  figure  (6)  of  the  former  falls  directly 
beneath  the  units  figure  (2)  of  the  latter.  Now  proceed  as  indicated 
by  the  figures  at  the  right,  getting  the  figures  to  carry  by  multiply¬ 
ing  the  figure  used  in  the  multiplier  by  the  next  figure  of  the  mul- 
tinlicand  to  the  right  of  it. 


6225 

5762 


1 245  =(2  X  622)+ I  (carried  from  2x5  =  10) 

3y3=(6x  62)+!  (  “  “  6x2  =  12) 

43=(yx  6)+i  (  “  ■“  yx2  =  i4) 

3=(5X  o)+3  (  “  “  5x6  =  30) 

$16.64 

In  determining  what  number  to  carry  if  the  product  from  which 
the  carrying  number  is  obtained  is  between  5  and  14  (in¬ 
clusive)  carry  i;  if  between  15  and  24  (inclusive)  carry  2;  and  so  on. 
If  it  is  desired  to  have  the  product  correct  to  three  decimal  places, 
13—2 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


i8 

arrange  the  numbers  as  before,  and  in  multiplying  by  each  number 
in  the  multiplier  begin  with  the  first  number  to  the  right  of  it  in  the 
multiplicand.  Thus,  in  the  same  problem,  proceed  as  indicated.  It 

6225 

5762 

12450=  2x6225  (nothing  to  carry) 

3735  =(6x  622)43  (carried  from  6x5  =  30) 

435  =(7  X  62)41  (  “  7x2  =  14) 

i6.63i=(5X  6)41  (  “  “  5x2  =  10) 

$16,651 

will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  difference  of  i  cent  in  the  two  re¬ 
sults,  which  shows  that  the  latter  method  is  more  accurate,  and 
hence  is  the  better  to  use  even  in  finding  the  result  of  the  two 
decimal  places. 

The  division  of  decimals  may  be  shortened  in  a  nearly  similar 
manner,  when  the  quotient  is  required  to  a  given  number  of  deci¬ 
mal  places.  Thus:  to  divide  65.743  by  3.1846,  the  result  to  be 
correct  to  two  decimal  places  proceed  as  follows:  Write  the  dividend 
and  divisor  as  in  ordinary  division,  without  reversing  either.  You  see 
that  the  whole  number  of  the  divisor  is  contained  in  the  whole  num- 
3.1846  )  65.743  (  20.64  ber  of  the  dividend  a  number  of  times 
^369  such  that  there  will  be  two  places  of  whole 

numbers  in-  the  quotient.  Now  as  you  are 

to  limit  the  number  of  decimal  places  in 

14  1  .  .... 

the  quotient  to  two,  the  entire  quotient 

~  will  contain  four  places.  Hence  take  only 

the  first  four  places  of  the  divisor,  that  is 
3184,  and  strike  out  the  fifth  place.  Proceeding  as  in  ordinary  di¬ 
vision,  you  find  that  the  first  figure  in  the  quotient  is  2.  Now, 
in  multiplying  the  divisor  by  this  2  multiply  by  the  6  that  was  struck 
out,  so  as  to  get  the  carrying  figure,  hence  you  get  (2x3184)41  (car¬ 
ried  from  2  X  6  =  12)=  6369.  Subtracting,  you  get  205  as  a  remainder. 
Do  not  bring  down  the  next  figure  in  the  dividend,  as  in  ordinary 
division,  but  instead  strike  out  the  next  right-hand  figure  of  the  di¬ 
visor  (4).  Now  since  318  is  not  contained  in  205,  write  a  o  in  the 
quotient,  and  strike  out  the  next  right-hand  figure  of  the  divisor 
(8).  The  next  figure  in  the  quotient  is  6,  since  31  is  contained  6 
times  in  205.  Proceeding  as  in  the  first  part  of  the  operation  you 
get:  (6x31)45  (carried  from  6x8  =  48)=i9i.  Subtract  as  before 
and  strike  out  the  next  right-hand  figure  of  the  divisor.  The  next 
figure  of  the  quotient,  which  is  obtained  as  before  is  14.  This  com- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


19 


pletes  the  operation,  and  gives  the  result  to  two  decimal  places.  The 
result  may  be  found  to  three  decimal  places  in  a  similar  manner  by 
using  all  of  the  five  places  in  the  divisor,  instead  of  only  four. 

Percentage. —  The  calculation  of  percentage  is  an  operation  that 
is  required  very  frequently  in  the  commercial  world,  and  speed  and 
accuracy  in  its  computation  are  very  necessary.  The  various  rates 
per  cent,  may  be  expressed  in  three  different  ways,  namely,  with  the 
per  cent,  sign  (%),  as  fractions,  or  as  decimals.  As  each  of  the 
methods  is  useful  at  various  times  a  study  of  the  following  table  of 
equivalents  may  be  found  to  be  of  benefit:  — 


I  %=TOT=-°I 

4%  =  TCI  =-025 

=  "sV 

5  %  =  A-  =-°5 
=  tV  =-0625 

8  %  =  A 

H%  =  tV  = 

10  %  =  j,,  =  .1 

14%  =  i  =-125 

i6i%=  I  =.i6-p 


20  %  = 

25 

33i%  = 
5°  %  = 
66|%  = 

75  %  = 


O 

X 

4 

1 
3 

X 

2 

_2 

3 

X 

3 

X 

8 


Xoj^ _ 3_ _ 

4  A  -  4  0  0  - 


25 

33i 


66| 

75 

875 

005 

0075 


two  or  more  discounts  are 


allowed  25%  and  20% 
1. 00 — .20=. 80;  1. 00  — 
270,  which  is  the  ^^net^^ 


3  —  6  —  *^^3 

Often  in  commercial  transactions 
allowed,  as,  33^%  and  10%.  In  computing  these,  subtract 'each  from 
100%  and  multiply  together  the  two  results.  This  last  result  will 
give  the  desired  net  after  deducting  the  single  discount  correspond¬ 
ing  to  the  various  others  taken  together.  Thus  to  find  the  net 
amount  of  a  bill  of  $500  on  which  there  are 
discount,  proceed  as  follows :  i.oo — .25  =  .75; 

.io=.9o;  .75X.80  x.9o  =  .54.  54%  of  $500  = 

of  the  bill. 

To  mark  goods  purchased  by  the  dozen  so  as  to  make  a  certain 
rate  of  profit,  proceed  as  follows :  — 

To  make  i8|^  move  decimal  point  in  cost  one  place  to  the  left  and  add  ^  of  itself 

i6|^ 

I2§^ 

20  $ 

25  i 

26  io 
28  io 

30  i 
32  i 

zzW" 

35  % 

37  i 

40  % 

44  Io 
50  i 

60  io 
80  io 


(( 


u 

it 

3^ 

i 

ii 

1*6 

ii 

0 

i 

3^4 

it 

i 

A 

ii 

iS 

i 

a 

ii 

\ 

ii 

h 

ii 

7 

i( 

h 

ii 

i 

i 

i 

ii 

i 

ii 

ii 

i 

20 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


If  a  man  buys  socks  at  $4.50  a  dozen  pairs,  and  desires  to  mark 
them  so  as  to  make  35%  on  each  pair,  he  may  determine  the  marking 
price  per  pair  by  reference  to  the  table,  as, 

Removing  the  decimal  point  of  4.50  one  place  to  the  left,  he  gets 
.45.  Adding  to  this  of  45  (=5)  he  finds  that  the  selling  price  a 
pair  must  be  $0.50. 

There  are  numerous  methods  for  shortening  the  operation  of  find¬ 
ing  the  interest  on  a  given  sum,  at  a  given  rate  per  cent.,  for  a 
given  number  of  days,  months,  or  years,  but  the  best  practical 
method  for  ordinary  use  is  by  means  of  cancellation.  Write  the 
principal  multiplied  by  the  rate  per  cent.,  multiplied  by  the  time  in 
years  (for  instance),  as  the  numerator  of  a  fraction  and  100  as  the 
denominator,  then  find  the  result  by  cancellation.  If  the  time  is 
given  in  months,  write  the  number  of  months  as  part  of  the  numer¬ 
ator,  and  12  as  a  part  of  the  denominator.  Thus  to  find  the  interest 


on  $500, 


6%  for  9  months  we  get 


$500  X  6  X  9 
100  X  12 


—  =  $22.50.  If  the  time 


is  given  in  days,  write  the  number  of  days  as  part  of  the  numerator 
and  360  as  part  of  the  denominator,  since  in  ordinary  operations  in 
interest  the  year  is  regarded  as  made  up  of  360  days.  As  the  year 
really  contains  365  days,  however,  we  must  write  365  in  the  denom¬ 
inator  instead  of  360,  if  we  desire  to  be  exact.  Having  found  the 
interest  by  regarding  the  year  as  made  up  of  360  days,  if  we  desire 
to  find  what  it  would  be  on  the  basis  of  365  days,  we  need  only  sub¬ 
tract*  from  the  interest  first  found  -^3  of  itself.  Thus,  if  the  interest 
on  a  certain  amount  for  a  certain  time  is  $146,  on  the  basis  of  360 
days  to  the  year,  we  may  find  what  it  is  on  a  365  day  basis  as 
follows :  — 

$146  —  (ytg.  of  $146)  =$144.  With  sums  of  $500  or  less,  or  with 
times  of  30  days  or  less,  the  difference  in  the  use  of  the  two  bases 
is  too  small  to  be  appreciable. 


Following  is  a  very  useful  rule  for  calculating  6%  interest  on  any 
sum  for  a  given  number  of  days:  multiply  the  sum  of  money  by  the  ^ 
number  of  days,  point  off  three  places  of  decimals,  and  divide  by  6. 
The  quotient  is  the  desired  interest.  Thus:  Find  interest  on  $639  at 
6%  for  II  days.  639x11  =  7029;  7029 -i- 6  =$1. 17. 


Assets.  —  All  the  property  of  every  sort,  belonging  to  a  business 
or  any  individual,  solvent,  bankrupt,  or  deceased. 

Assignee.  —  A  person  to  whom  an  assignment  is  made. 


N 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


21 


Assignment. —  The  transfer  of  a  whole  or  part  of  an  interest  in  an 
estate  or  property. 

Assume. —  To  take  upon  oneself,  as  a  debt  or  an  obligation. 

Assured  and  Assurance. —  The  same  as  insured  and  insurance. 

Attachment. —  A  taking  of  the  person,  goods,  or  any  property  by 
legal  process,  to  secure  a  debt  or  demand. 

Attorney. —  One  legally  appointed  by  another  to  transact  business 
for  him.  Such  power  is  called  power  of  attorney. 

Auction. — A  public  sale  of  property  to  the  highest  bidder. 

Audit. —  To  examine  and  adjust  accounts. 

Averages. —  In  marine  insurance  there  are  two  kinds,  particular 
and  general.  A  particular  average  is  a  pro  rata  contribution  levied 
upon  all  underwriters  to  cover  damages  to  a  vessel  from  accidents 
of  the  sea.  A  general  average  is  a  contribution  ■  levied  upon*  ship¬ 
owners,  and  owners  of  cargo  or  freight  for  mutual  protection  as  the 
cutting  away  of  masts  or  rigging,  etc.,  or  throwing  goods  overboard. 

Award.  —  The  decision  of  a  board  of  arbitrators  in  a  case. 

Balance. —  The  difference  between  the  debit  and  credit  sides  of  an 
account. 

Balance  Account. —  A  general  account  in  the  Ledger  to  which 
are  transferred  at  a  certain  date  the  balances  of  all  other  accounts. 
This  then  indicates  the  financial  condition  of  the  business. 

Balance  Sheet. —  A  statement  of  affairs  at  a  given  period  based 
upon  the  books  and  accounts.  It  sets  forth  the  capital,  liabilities, 
assets,  and  funds  on  hand. 

Balance  of  Trade. —  The  difference  in  value  between  the  exports 
and  the  imports  of  a  country. 

Bale.  —  A  bundle  of  goods  in  a  cloth  cover,  ready  for  carriage. 


22 


THE  LADDER  TO  SUCCESS  IN  BANKING 

V 

By  LTMAN  J.  GAGE 

1  SHALL  deem  myself  fortunate  if  I  can  paint  in  adequate 
language,  for  the  young  men  of  our  glorious  country, 
the  magnificent  prospect  which  opens  before  us  in 
the  new  century.  With  a  land  whose  material  resources 
are  just  coming  into  view;  with  a  population  strong,  vig¬ 
orous,  inventive,  and  full  of  enterprise ;  with  a  climate 
stimulating  to  mental  and  physical  activity,  what  may  not 
be  expected  in  the  way  of  material  accomplishment  ?  But 
these  conditions  will  be  deeply  affected  by  the  moral 
quality  and  political  wisdom  of  our  people,  particularly  of 
our  young  men.  A  right  knowledge  of  our  true  relation¬ 
ships,  a  mutual  confidence  between  sections,  and  a  loyal 
adhesion  to  true  economic  and  financial  laws,  are  con¬ 
ditions  precedent  and  indispensable  to  the  highest  degree  of  attainment, 
whether  in  material  progress  or  in  social  happiness.  To  promote  these 
conditions,  to  help  to  the  realization  of  these  results,  the  judicious 
cooperation  of  intelligence  and  of  patriotism  is  necessary.  In  this 
needful  cooperation,  the  banker  is  an  all-important  factor.  May  he 
never  be  found  wanting! 

Now,  what  qualities  must  a  young  man  have  to  make  a  successful 
banker, —  that  is,  one  who  is  upright,  intelligent,  and  reliable  ?  A  true 
sense  of  patriotism  is  the  first  essential,  for  in  no  other  relation  is  the 
state  so  dependent  on  the  integrity  of  its  servants.  The  man  who  han¬ 
dles  finances,  whether  public  or  private,  must  give  his  best  thought  and 
his  best  efforts  to  the  betterment  of  his  country  and  of  his  fellow-citizens ; 
for  this  is,  in  the  highest  type,  the  cause  of  humanity. 

The  successful  banker  must  be  a  trained  man,  and,  as  a  rule,  he  goes 
through  a  long  and  rigorous  novitiate.  He  must  have  a  realizing  sense 
of  the  truth  of  the  proverb :  A  teachable  spirit  is  essential  to  the  gain¬ 
ing  of  wisdom.  Certainly  it  is  essential  for  the  gaining  of  financial 
acumen,  and  I  would  advise  all  aspirants  for  success  along  financial  lines 
to  frame  this  proverb  in  their  offices  or  bedrooms.  Originality  counts 
for  a  great  deal ;  but  it  is  safer,  when  one  is  young,  to  follow  the  beaten 
track,  and  to  profit  by  the  wisdom  of  those  who  have  learned  in  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


23 


school  of  experience.  When  experience  comes,  you  will  be  in  better 
shape  to  profit  by  it.  More  solid  fortunes  have  been  made  by  industry 
and  perseverance  than  in  the  so-called  coups  of  the  market. 

It  goes  without  questioning  that  integrity  is  an  indispensable  quality. 
A  young  man  must  learn  to  be  mentally  honest, —  that  is,  he  must  not 
deceive  himself.  A  wise  father  said  to  his  son  who  was  called  to  the 
bench:  My  boy,  in  giving  judgment,  be  not  ruled  by  love  or  by  hate, 

for  both  are  equally  disastrous  to  justice.  It  would  be  trite  to  say  that 
in  no  occupation  can  a  young  man  succeed  without  industry,  but  this  is 
particularly  applicable  in  the  banking  business.  Finance  is  a  hard  mis¬ 
tress  to  serve,  and  she  showers  her  favors  only  on  those  who  woo  her 
untiringly,  and  with  unfaltering  devotion.  She  requires  all  the  time, 
energy,  and  effort  of  a  young  man’s  life.  After  the  usual  working  hours, 
she  insists  on  extra  duty. 

You  must  plan  and  study  and  work  out  your  own  problems  and  solve 
your  own  difficulties.  As  in  the  case  of  learning,  no  royal  road  leads  to 
success.  But  few  occupations  offer  more  flattering  rewards  than  the  bank¬ 
ing  business.  It  is  a  healthy  sign  of  the  times  that  the  majority  of  suc¬ 
cessful  financiers  have  risen  from  the  ranks.  Some  men,  whose  word 
now  affects  the  world  of  money  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth,  began 
life  as  bank  messengers.  They  struggled  and  studied,  observed  condi¬ 
tions  around  them,  and  picked  up  the  golden  words  of  wisdom  which 
fell  from  the  lips  of  the  Solons  of  their  line,  —  in  a  word,  they  solved  the 
problems,  and  made  their  fortunes.  Patriotism,  courage,  integrity,  in¬ 
dustry,  perseverance,  and  an  intelligence  which  embraces  all  practical 
branches, — these  are  the  qualities  necessary  for  the  young  man  who 
aims  to  be  a  successful  banker. 

But  this  question  has  also  an  academic  side,  and  there  are  many  points 
which  as  yet  are  not  definitely  settled  and  determined.  Forty  years  ago, 
we  had  no  such  problems  as  we  now  face.  The  Civil  War  burdened  us  in 
many  ways,  not  the  least  being  the  financial  load  placed  upon  our  shoul¬ 
ders.  Our  bankers,  since  that  trying  period,  have  had  more  arduous  duties 
to  perform,  more  difficult  threads  to  untangle.  Drastic  legislation  struck 
down  the  faulty  system  of  bad  currency,  and  established  another,  the  im¬ 
mediate  purpose  of  which  was  to  facilitate  the  negotiation  of  the  rapidly 
growing  public  debt.  Through  taxation,  every  channel  was  drained,  and 
these  influences,  acting  both  separately  and  conjointly,  brought  vast  sums 
of  money  which  were  locked  away  from  current  use  in  trade  and  industry. 
The  banker  had  to  face  the  greenback  problem,  a  measure  which,  even 
in  the  trying  days  of  the  Civil  War,  had  been  adopted  with  fear  and 
hesitation  by  all  thoughtful  statesmen  and  financiers.  But  the  green¬ 
back  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  associated  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with 
things  sacred.  It  is  battle-scarred, —  battle-stained,^^  and  every  effort 


24 


BUSINESS  AND-  COMMERCE 


which  bankers  made  to  throw  upon  it  the  light  of  economic  truth  was, 
and  still  is,  in  many  quarters  resented  as  a  sacrilege. 

As  if  this  problem  left  by  the  Civil  War  were  not  enough,  bankers 
have,  through  political  compromise,  been  made  to  assume  others.  The 
complications  introduced  into  an  already  serious  difficulty  by  the  legis¬ 
lation  concerning  the  silver  coinage  and  money  standard,  between  1878 
and  1893,  is  familiar  to  even  the  youngest  financiers.  Now,  what  is  the 
present  situation  ? 

We  have  in  circulation  among  the  people,  and  as  a  reserve  fund  in  the 
banks,  three  hundred  and  forty-six  million  dollars’  worth  of  government 
notes.  They  constitute  an  enormous  public  debt,  payable  on  demand. 
We  have,  or  soon  will  have,  substantially  six  hundred  millions  of  silver, 
or  paper  representatives  of  silver,  whose  parity  with  gold  value  the  gov¬ 
ernment  is  under  obligation  to  maintain.  The  ultimate  measure  of  this 
obligation  is  the  difference  between  the  commercial  value  of  the  money 
metal  and  the  face  value  at  which  it  circulates.  This  difference  is  not 
far  from  three  hundred  million  dollars. 

We  have  a  system  of  banknote  currency  whose  volume  is  but  faintly 
related  to  the  needs  of  the  community,  which  a  properly  constructed 
bank  currency  most  economically  serves.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  as 
all  know,  controlled  as  to  volume  by  the  price  of  interest-bearing  United 
States  bonds  in  Wall  Street. 

The  banker,  whether  acting  as  the  servant  of  the  people  in  the  gov¬ 
ernment  offices,  or  doing  business  for  himself,  has  it  within  his  power 
to  work  much  good  or  evil.  His  peculiar  position  is  that  of  an  inter¬ 
mediary  in  affairs,  and  this  gives  him  an  exceptional  opportunity  to 
study  and  grasp  these  momentous  questions.  ‘His  interests,  tied  as 
they  are  to  varied  and  multiplied  business  activities,  put  him  under  bond 
to  do  all  he  can  for  the  general  welfare.  Upon  his. character,  intelligence, 
and  fidelity  to  duty  and  truth,  as  applied  to  all  these  questions  touching 
the  national  honor  or  private  trust,  the  country  has  a  right  to  rely  with 
implicit  confidence. 

Here  in  our  own  land,  we  are  witnesses  of  the  metamorphosis  of 
previous  conditions  and  methods  of  business.  The  consolidation  of 
capital,  the  centralization  of  industries,  excite  new  and  serious  inquiry 
as  to  the  consequences  and  effects  they  may  carry  in  their  train.  Are 
they  the  natural  and  healthful  unfolding  of  a  true  economic  movement  ? 

Will  they  carry  beneficial  fruits  which  will  find  an  equitable  distribu¬ 
tion  through  the  body  politic  as  a  whole,  or  will  they  prove  to  be  engines 
of  power,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  few  can  exploit  the  many  ? 

My  faith  is  strong  in  the  first  direction,  but  the  real  meaning  and  fu¬ 
ture  influences  of  these  modern  phenomena  should  be  studied  and  made 
clear  to  the  general  comprehension.  Grave  consequences  depend  upon 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


25 


it.  Two  dangers  are  apparent.  One  is  that,  through  prejudice  and  ig¬ 
norance,  we  may  block  the  path  of  natural  progress.  The  other  is  that 
the  force  and  power  involved  in  these  great  organizations  may  be  utilized 
for  oppression  and  robbery.  To  the  banker,  the  country  looks  for 
safety.  May  he  never  be  found  lacking  in  those  qualities  of  mind, 
of  heart,  and  of  head  which  must  form  the  country’s  safeguard. 


THE  MAKING  OF  A  BANKER 


By  GEORGE  G.  WILLIAMS 
President  of  the  Chemical  National  Bank  of  New  York 

The  making  of  a  banker  is  a  slow  process.  The  man 
who  reaches  an  important  position  in  any  substan¬ 
tial  bank,  does  so  only  by  long  years  of  faithful 
and  painstaking  service,  either  in  the  particular  bank 
with  which  he  is  identified,  in  some  other  banking  institu¬ 
tion,  or  in  a  commercial  house.  I  have  no  sympathy  with 
any  man’s  ambition  to  become  rich  over  night.  Such  an 
ambition  is  unwholesome  and  dangerous,  and  is  the  off¬ 
spring  of  aggravated  avarice  and  ill-advised  enterprise. 

One  can  count  on  the  fingers  of  a  single  hand  almost  all 
the  men  in  this  country  who  have  retained  suddenly 
acquired  riches.  A  longer  time  is  required  to  learn  how 
to  take  care  of  wealth  than  to  learn  how  to  acquire  it.  As 
the  founder  of  the  house  of  Rothschild  once  said:  It  is  easier  to  make 
money  than  to  keep  it.^^  To  the  men  who  have  suddenly  come  into 
possession  of  wealth,  but  wno  have  been  for  years  laying  the  foundations 
of  their  fortunes,  I  do  not,  of  course,  refer. 

The  banking  business  is  not  the  one  for  the  youth  who  is  ambitious 
to  be  a  rich  man  at  thirty.  But  for  him  who  is  intelligent,  persevering 
and  patient,  willing  to  wait  and  to  work  hard  for  his  reward,  banking 
offers  a  most  satisfactory  c  ireer.  A  man  can  achieve  success  in  this 
profession  without  brilliancy  or  any  unusual  gifts.  But  he  must  have  a 
high  standard  of  integrity,  and  the  strong  will  necessary  to  live  up  to 
this  standard  amid  the  temptations  of  the  banker’s  life.  The  first  thing 
we  do  when  we  contemplate  engaging  a  young  man  is  to  satisfy  ourselves 
that  he  is  honest  and  strong ,  the  rest  does  not  bother  us.  Having  such 
material  to  work  with,  we  can  soon  make  a  banker. 

But  the  young  man  must  have,  or  must  acquire,  the  habit  of  polite¬ 
ness.  When  I  became  assistant  paying  teller,  1  recognized  the  necessity 


26 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


of  uniform  courtesy  to  all.  It  was  then  that  the  formative  influences  of 
early  life  became  of  practical  value  to  me.  My  childhood  had  been 
spent  in  a  professional  atmosphere.  Culture  and  refinement  surrounded 
me  at  home,  and  I  would  have  been  a  pretty  poor  specimen  of  humanity 
if  I  had  not  become  to  some  extent  imbued  with  these  qualities.  My 
father  and  mother  always  showed  the  strongest  contempt  for  duplicity 
and  cowardice.  I  learned  to  share  their  feelings,  and  have  tried  to  im¬ 
part  my  ideas  in  this  respect  to  all  who  have  come  under  me  in  the  bank. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  my  experience,  I  observed  that  many  a 
shabby  coat  hid  a  package  of  bonds  or  a  snug  sum  of  money,  and  that 
fine  attire  did  not  always  cover  a  millionaire.  This  knowledge  suggested 
to  me  the  prudence,  as  well  as  the  justice,  of  being  courteous  on  all  oc¬ 
casions,  and  I  have  always  made  it  a  rule  of  the  bank  that  its  employees 
be  considerate  and  polite  to  every  one.  Many  an  important  customer 
has  been  lost  to  a  bank  through  the  incivility  or  neglect  of  an  employee. 
We  act  on  the  principle  that  an  ounce  of  politeness  saves  a  ton  of  correc¬ 
tion.  The  officers  and  clerks  of  this  bank,  being  always  civil  to  those 
who  enter  its  doors,  have  set  an  example  to  clerks  and  messengers  com¬ 
ing  in  here,  which  has  borne  good  fruit,  as  we  have  been  told  by  their 
employers.  If  I  had  twenty  tongues,  I  would  preach  politeness  with  them 
all,  for  a  long  experience  has  taught  that  its  results  are  tangible  and  in¬ 
evitable.  It  is  the  Aladdin's  lamp  of  success. 

If  a  man  is  a  gentleman,  he  can  lift  a  trade  up  to  the  standard  of  a 
profession.  A  man  can  make  of  banking  a  trade,  a  business,  or  a  pro¬ 
fession.  Some  men  go  into  a  bank  with  no  other  ambition  than  to  be 
useful  machines;  at  a  salary  and  in  a  position  for  life.  This  is  by  no 
means  an  illaudable  ambition,  as  such  men  have  usually  recognized  their 
inability  to  grasp  questions  of  finance,  and  measure  their  desires  by  their 
capacity.  These  intellectual  machines  are  an  invaluable  part  of  the 
mechanism  of  a  bank,  and,  if  the  president  be  wise,  he  will  treat  them 
well,  pay  them  fairly,  and  try  to  keep  them  contented.  Of  course,  the 
men  to  whom  I  refer  are  often  able,  and  are  philosophically  resigned  to 
good,  steady  situations  that  secure  to  themselves  and  their  families  com¬ 
fortable  incomes. 

These  men  are  unprogressive,  and  after  reaching  a  certain  stage  of 
their  careers  the)"  rarely  acquire  new  knowledge.  To  attain  to  positions 
of  high  authority  in  banking,  a  man  must  be  on  the  alert  for.  information 
and  try  to  profit  by  each  new  experience.  To  speak  personally,  the  most 
valuable  part  of  my  training  was  received  when  I  became  a  discount 
clerk.  The  handling  of  commercial  paper  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
functions  of  a  bank.  Any  fairly  educated  man  can  acquire  the  technical 
features  of  banking,  but  the  science  of  banking  is  the  study  of  men. 
The  discounting  of  paper  peculiarly  involves  such  a  study.  In  the  dis- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


27 


count  department  I  learned  that  the  basis  of  all  great  institutions  is  in 
the  character  of  the  men  who  control  them,  and  not  in  the  brick  and 
mortar,  steel  rails  or  money  which  are  behind  them.  A  man  may  be  a 
member  of  a  most  reputable  and  wealthy  concern,  but,  if  he  lives  beyond 
his  means,  it  is  necessary  to  be  very  careful  about  his  or  his  firm’s 
paper,  for  his  course  is  a  dangerous  one.  The  principle  applies  equally 
to  great  corporations,  which  from  time  to  time  require  loans  on  their  se¬ 
curities.  Finance  is  so  intimately  connected  with  all  human  affairs,  that 
the  man  at  the  helm  of  a  great  bank  must  watch  all  the  points  of  the 
compass  for  warnings  of  impending  storms.  It  is  the  study  and  knowl¬ 
edge  of  extraneous  matters  in  their  relation  to  finance  that  make  bank¬ 
ing  a  profession. 

To  find  in  banking  a  satisfactory  career,  a  young  man  must  not,  as 
I  have  said,  hurry  to  acquire  wealth.  He  should  not  only  live  within 
his  income,  no  matter  how  small,  but  should  save  a  little.  This  may  be 
hard  to  do,  but  it  is  indispensable,  and  I  don’t  know  of  a  successful  man, 
who  has  made  his  own  money,  who  has  not  had  to  do  it.  The  youth 
should  remember  that  knowledge  increases  his  capacity  to  make  money, 
and  so  should  devote  his  evenings  to  study  and  reading.  He  should 
also  avoid  bad  company,  not  only  in  people,  but  in  books  and  newspa¬ 
pers.  Self-denial  is  at  times  painful,  but  it  is  part  of  the  fiery  ordeal 
that  produces  the  true  metal.  Trouble  should  always  be  faced  squarely. 
We  often  see  lions  in  our  paths,  which,  upon  approach,  prove  to  be  shad¬ 
ows.  The  value  of  time  is  too  little  appreciated  and  cannot  be  measured 
by  money.  A  young  man  should  be  careful  to  avoid  temptation  be¬ 
yond  what  he  has  strength  of  mind  to  resist.  Temptation  strengthens 
character,  if  resisted, —  but  it  is  a  very  dangerous  thing  to  trifle  with. 
The  great  trouble  with  most  country  boys  who  come  to  the  city  is  that 
they  haven’t  sufficient  stamina  to  resist  temptation.  All  such  would  do 
better  to  stay  at  home.  The  cause  of  disaster  to  many  country  boys  in 
the  city  is  not  in  themselves  so  much  as  in  their  surroundings.  They 
are  sociably  inclined,  but  have,  as  a  rule,  no  society,  save  that  which 
they  pick  up,  and  which  too  often  proves  not  only  unprofitable,  but  ac¬ 
tively  pernicious.  The  city  boy,  on  the  other  hand,  has  the  advantage 
of  home  and  high  social  influences  to  guide  and  restrain. 

I  should  say  to  young  men  anxious  to  make  the  most  of  their  lives: 

Live  to  build  up  a  temple  within  yourself.  Fear  God  and  do  your 
duty, — that  means,  to  yourself  and  to  your  fellow-men.  God  has  given 
you  the  rough  marble;  shape  it  into  divine  form  or  shatter  it,  as  you  will. 
It  all  rests  with  yourself. 


28 


THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  A  BANK 

By  JAMES  G.  CANNON 
Vice-president^  Fourth  National  Bank,  New  York 

IT  IS  not  my  purpose  at  this  time  to  go  into  a  lengthy  discussion  of  any 
particular  branch  of  the  banking  business,  but  1  shall  endeavor  to 
enumerate  some  special  points  which  I  believe  worthy  of  considera¬ 
tion  in  conducting  the  business  of  a  successful  banking  institution.  No 
one  can  dispute  the  fact  that  this  is  an  age  of  great  advancement ;  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  progress  should  manifest  itself  not  only  in  the  devel¬ 
opment  and  perfection  of  the  steam  engine,  the  telephone,  and  the  X 
rays,  but  quite  as  much  in  the  machinery  of  the  banking  business,  and 
in  all  legitimate  mercantile  pursuits.  Competition  in  all  lines  is  steadily 
increasing,  thereby  narrowing  the  margin  of  profit,  and  it  is  important 
that  we  should  so  adjust  the  intricate  machinery  of  our  business  by  the 
introduction  of  modern  methods  of  conducting  it  that  we  shall  not  only 
keep  abreast  of  the  times,  but,  if  need  be,  a  little  in  advance  of  them. 

The  preference  for  antiquated  methods  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  there  are  to-day  scattered  over  the  country  a  large  number  of  bank¬ 
ing  institutions  that  are  suffering  from  dry  rot,  and  this  may  be  attrib¬ 
uted  largely  to  the  fact  that  their  officers  are  timid  about  advancing  new 
theories  and  outlining  up-to-date  policies  in  the  management  of  their 
business;  consequently,  the  banks,  with  their  listless  and  indifferent 
directors,  coupled  with  small  profits,  barely  manage  to  maintain  their 
existence. 

For  convenience,  I  have  divided  my  subject  into  four  parts:  First, 
The  Business  of  a  bank;  second.  Its  Officers;  third.  Its  Employees; 
fourth.  Its  Machinery. 

First,  Its  Business.  A  bank  should  not  be  organized  nor  its  business 
conducted  for  anyone  set  of  men  or  class  of  trade.  No  bank  can  be 
successful  when  managed  exclusively  in  the  interest  of  a  political  party, 
whether  Republican,  Democratic,  Prohibition,  or  Populist.  Neither  can 
it  be  expected  to  prosper  when  conducted  for  the  benefit  of  one  section 
of  the  country  —  East,  West,  North,  or  South  —  nor  when  managed  for 
the  sole  interest  of  one  religious  denomination,  whether  Presbyterian, 
Baptist,  Episcopalian,  Hebrew,  or  Catholic.  While  a  good  bank  should 
know  neither  politics  nor  religion,  I  believe  that  every  bank,  as  well  as 
every  other  institution  or  business,  should  be  conducted  on  strictly 
Christian  principles.  A  bank  should  so  unite  the  different  interests  of  a 
community  that  all’ may  contribute  to  its  success  and  prosperity. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


29 


As  an  organized  and  legalized  money-lender,  a  bank,  in  making  loans, 
should  endeavor,  as  far  as  possible,  to  avoid  favoring  any  one  class  of 
the  business  community  above  another.  It  should  so  distribute  its 
funds  that  no  matter  what  financial  complications  may  arise,  its  loans 
shall  be  diversified  and  its  risks  divided  in  such  a  manner  as  to  insure  it 
against  anything  but  comparatively  slight  losses.  It  should  never  ex¬ 
tend  such  a  large  credit  to  any  one  person  or  firm  that  the  failure  of  such 
a  party  or  parties  would  embarrass  or  imperil  the  institution.  Over¬ 
loaning  is  an  error  that  a  bank  officer  is  very  liable  to  fall  into,  as  it  is  so 
much  easier  to  loan  freely  to  a  person  whom  we  believe  to  be  perfectly 
sound  and  solvent  than  to  go  to  the  trouble  of  investigating  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  borrowers  and  dividing  the  risks.  Many  bank  failures  have  been 
the  result  of  loaning  to  single  firms  and  individuals  larger  amounts  than 
were  prudent  or  lawful. 

A  well-known  writer  states  that  the  most  important  part  of  a  banker’s 
education  is  to  learn  whom  to  trust.  This  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  un¬ 
fortunately  many  bank  officers  have  no  careful  system  of  investigating 
the  standing  and  credit  of  those  who  borrow  from  them.  They  simply 
rely  upon  the  prestige  of  the  concern,  so  to  speak,  or  upon  some  vague 
idea  or  memory  of  the  past  goodness  of  the  customer.  Every  bank 
should  have  a  carefully  organized  and  thoroughly  equipped  credit  depart¬ 
ment,  to  determine  the  reputation  and  responsibility  of  its  customers, 
and,  as  it  is  quite  impossible  for  a  bank  officer  to  keep  in  mind  the  finan¬ 
cial  status  of  every  firm  and  individual  doing  business  with  his  institution, 
this  department  should  have  the  custody  of  these  records,  besides  keep¬ 
ing  a  check  on  the  amounts  and  different  classes  of  paper  under  discount. 

There  is  a  strong  aversion  on  the  part  of  some  borrowers  to  having 
their  affairs  investigated,  but  any  one  wishing  to  borrow  money  from  a 
bank  should  have  the  same  feeling  toward  it  that  a  merchant  does  who 
purchases  goods  from  a  wholesale  dealer.  The  latter  has  a  commodity 
to  sell,  but  before  shipping  the  goods  he  naturally  requires  a  statement 
of  the  purchaser’s  condition,  and  any  facts  that  will  aid  in  arriving  at  a 
decision  as  to  the  line  of  credit  to  be  granted.  The  banker,  also,  has  a 
commodity  to  sell  —  for  money  is  a  commodity  —  and  he  should  be  doubly 
sure  of  the  financial  strength  of  the  party  to  whom  he  is  loaning  or 
selling  it,  as  the  funds  he  advances  do  not  belong  to  him,  but  to  the 
bank’s  stockholders  and  depositors,  and  are  held  in  trust  by  him ;  hence 
he  should  exercise  the  utmost  care  in  ascertaining  the  credit  worth  of 
parties  to  whom  he  grants  accommodation. 

Borrowers  who  hesitate  and  refuse  to  give  their  banks  a  complete 
statement  of  their  condition,  take  an  unreasonable  position,  as,  no  matter 
how  great  their  reputation  for  soundness  and  integrity  may  be,  the  bank 
cannot  be  expected  to  make  a  credit  basis  upon  something  that  is,  at 


30 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


best,  only  indefinite  and  uncertain.  I  have  always  held  that  a  bank  is 
entitled  to  know  the  fullest  details  regarding  its  customers,  if  they  come 
to  it  with  their  hats  in  their  hands.  This  may  be  a  homely  way  of  put¬ 
ting  it,  but  its  meaning  cannot  be  misunderstood. 

Some  houses  consider  themselves  entitled  to  financial  favors  at  the 
hands  of  their  banks;  but,  if  they  are  asked  for  particulars  regarding 
their  condition,  they  are  at  once  disposed  to  resent  inquiry,  taking  it  as 
a  piece  of  impertinence.  Experience  has  shown  that  in  ninety-five  cases 
out  of  a  hundred  where  borrowers  take  this  stand,  they  are  in  a  precari¬ 
ous  condition  and  have  something  to  conceal.  Recent  failures  have  con¬ 
firmed  my  opinion  of  this  matter,  and  I  am  more  strongly  convinced 
than  ever  that  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  in  all  such  cases  to  accept  the 
benefit  of  a  doubt  and  decline  the  advances  desired.  Of  course,  it  is 
possible  that  a  concern  of  high  standing  will  sometimes  refuse  to  make  a 
statement,  and  yet  be  entirely  able  to  meet  its  obligations.  Sooner  or 
later,  however,  it  will  feel  the  desirability  of  having  its  bank  entirely 
confident  of  its  position. 

Nerve  is  sometimes  needed  to  carry  into  execution  the  suggestions  I 
have  offered ;  but  time  will  convince  the  bank  officer  who  adopts  them 
that  he  has  taken  the  right  course,  and  the  results  will  be  equally  grati¬ 
fying  to  himself,  and  to  the  bank’s  directors  and  stockholders.  If,  in 
every  case  where  credit  is  desired,  a  statement  is  obtained  and  thor¬ 
oughly  analyzed,  as  well  as  supplemented  by  a  careful  investigation  in 
the  trade  as  to  the  promptness  and  integrity  of  the  parties  making  it, 
the  banker  has  the  assurance  that  he  has  done  all  within  his  power  to 
protect  his  institution  against  imposition  and  fraud ;  and  if,  under  these 
circumstances,  he  finds  that  his  confidence  has  been  misplaced,  he  has 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  did  his  full  duty. 

The  funds  of  a  bank  should  be  loaned  on  short  time.  There  is  a 
growing  disposition  in  the  mercantile  community  to  sell  goods  on  longer 
time  and  date  bills  further  ahead,  and  this  naturally  leads  merchants  to 
ask  for  extended  tim^e  on  their  paper ;  but  if  a  banker  complies  with  such 
requests,  the  maturities  of  his  bank  are  seriously  disarranged.  If  all 
bank  officers  would  insist,  as  far  as  possible,  upon  shorter  notes,  the  re¬ 
sult  would  be  beneficial  to  themselves  and  to  the  community,  as  it  would 
produce  a  more  healthful  state  of  commercial  affairs,  and  tend  to  curtail 
excessive  credits  on  the  part  of  the  merchants.  In  some  sections  it  is,  of 
course,  impossible  to  do  business  in  this  way,  but  in  large  cities  and  im¬ 
portant  money  centers  it  can  be  done  with  but  little  inconvenience. 

Another  point  which  should  be  carefully  considered  is  that  of  renew¬ 
ing  paper.  '  After  a  note  has  been  renewed  once,  the  bank  should  insist 
upon  payment  when  due,  and  thus  be  allowed  to  see  the  color  of  its 
money.  This  may  seem  a  hardship  to  those  who,  especially  in  small 


BUJ5IN15SS  AND  COMMERCE 


31 


country  towns,  borrow  with  the  expectation  of  having  the  loans  renewed 
year  in  and  year  out,  they  simply  paying  the  interest ;  but  it  forcibly  re¬ 
minds  them  that  their  debts  must  be  paid,  and  they  will  no  longer  regard 
them  as  trivial  matters,  which  may  be  adjusted  merely  by  an  interest 
payment  once  or  twice  a  year,  as  the  case  may  be.  I  have  good  author¬ 
ity  for  the  statement  that  at  least  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  assets  of  many 
country  banks  consist  of  what  may  be  said  to  be  virtually  past  due  paper, 
upon  which  the  banks  are  obliged  to  accept  renewals.  This  is  certainly 
startling.  No  bank  should  treat  its  customers  in  such  a  way  as  to  lead 
them  to  believe  that  it  stands  ready  to  furnish  permanent  capital  for 
their  business ;  and  the  payment  of  a  note  should  be  insisted  upon,  even 
if  the  borrower  is  allowed  to  have  the  money  back  within  twenty-four 
hours. 

I  should  like  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  having  a  bank  treat  all 
its  customers  alike,  and  upon  a  fair  and  equitable  basis.  A  bank  is  con¬ 
ducted  for  the  purpose  of  making  money  for  its  stockholders,  and  in 
loaning  no  favoritism  should  be  shown.  Besides  its  capital  stock,  it  has 
the  use  of  its  customers’  deposits;  and  the  average  balance  of  a  customer’s 
account  is  the  proper  basis  upon  which  he  should  be  treated,  all  other 
things,  of  course,  being  equal.  The  funds  of  many  banks  are  monopo¬ 
lized  by  supplying  the  requirements  of  their  directors  or  the  wants  of 
the  friends  of  the  officers;  and  it  is  often  a  cause  for  wonderment  on  their 
part  why  the  bank  is  not  more  successful  in  its  business  operations.  But 
if  the  depositors  are  treated  in  a  fair,  straightforward  manner,  and  given 
the  attention  to  which  they  are  entitled,  the  bank  will  inevitably  win  its 
•  way  into  public  favor  and  achieve  success.  People  love  fair  play,  and 
no  one  desires  it  more  than  the  man  who  keeps  his  money  in  your  bank, 
and  he  justly  expects  to  be  treated  with  the  consideration  which  is  ac¬ 
corded  to  others. 

The  reserve  is  another  important  feature.  In  addition  to  the  cash 
reserve  required  by  law,  every  bank  should  have  a  reserve,  either  in  the 
shape  of  call  loans  or  some  other  available  assets,  which  can  be  quickly 
converted  into  cash.  In  determining  of  what  this  latter  reserve  should 
consist,  and  the  amount  to  be  carried,  the  location  of  the  bank,  and  its 
business  and  customers,  should  be  taken  into  consideration.  Its  quick 
asset  reserve  should,  however,  be  a  liberal  one,  as  nothing  yields  so  much 
prestige  to  a  bank  as  to  be  able  to  respond  promptly,  if  for  any  reason  its 
depositors  should  find  it  necessary  to  withdraw  a  large  amount  of  money 
in  a  short  time. 

The  last  point  to  which  I  shall  direct  your  attention  in  regard  to  the 
business  of  a  successful  bank  is  the  question  of  advertising.  A  promi¬ 
nent  advertising  agent  says  in  a  treatise  which  he  has  written  on  this 
subject:  — 


I 


32 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  objects  to  be  attained  by  advertising  are  to  increase  business,  to 
procure  additional  trade,  to  win  the  attention  of  persons  who  have  not 
acquired  the  habit  of  bestowing  their  custom  at  any  fixed  place,  to  secure 
the  attention  of  the  man  who  never  did  want  anything  in  your  line  till 
now,  and  never  expects  to  do  so  again,  but  is  ready  to  go  for  it  wherever 
he  is  told  that  it  can  be  obtained  on  reasonable  terms. 

Therefore  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  a  bank  should  judiciously 
advertise  its  business.  In  advancing  this  opinion  I  am  no  doubt  run¬ 
ning  counter  to  a  large  number  of  conservative  bankers  who  pride  them¬ 
selves  upon  the  fact  that,  although  their  banks  never  advertise,  they  have 
a  good  business  and  consider  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  solicit  an  ac¬ 
count.  These  gentlemen  are  sustained  in  their  opinion  by  such  a  well- 
known  financial  writer  as  George  Rae,  who  stated  in  the,  Country 
Banker,  that  banking  is  a  business  to  which  the  process  of  pushing 
must  be  applied,  if  at  all,  with  the  utmost  circumspection,  and  that  you 
should  rely  upon  your  customers’  good-will  to  bring  fresh  business  to  the 
bank  without  moving  yourself  in  the  matter.  This  may  be  true  in  old, 
settled  communities  like  those  in  England,  but  in  sections  which  develop 
as  readily  as  those  in  the  West,  progress  requires  information,  which 
can  properly  be  imparted  through  the  medium  of  advertising. 

The  question  now  arises :  What  is  the  best  way  for  a  bank  to  adver¬ 
tise  ?  This,  of  course,  depends  largely  upon  the  situation  of  the  bank 
and  upon  its  officers;  but  careful  and  judicious  advertising  through  any 
medium  wdiich  reaches  the  public  has  more  to  do  with  the  prosperity  of 
a  bank  than  many  men  realize.  A .  careful  record  should  be  kept  of 
every  letter  soliciting  an  account,  every  circular  mailed,  every  new 
account  received,  and  all  matters  pertaining  to  new  business,  for  it 
is  only  in  this  way  that  you  can  see  the  benefits  of  advertising.  Tell 
the  absolute  truth  in  your  statements  and  make  them  so  plain  that 
no  question  need  be  asked  to  ascertain  the  exact  condition  of  your  af¬ 
fairs. 

My  second  topic  is  the  bank’s  officers.  The  latter  should  be  broad¬ 
minded  men,  thoroughly  conversant  wdth  all  classes  of  business.  They 
should  not  give  themselves  up  to  narrow  views  or  prejudices,  but  should 
endeavor  to  look  upon  business  matters  from  an  unbiased  standpoint  and 
to  give  careful,  conservative,  and,  at  the  same  time,  quick  judgment. 
Promptness  of  action  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  qualities  in  a  bank 
officer.  If  he  shows  any  hesitancy  about  answering  the  questions  that 
come  before  him  from  day  to  day,  or  if  he  be  dilatory  about  passing 
upon  the  problems  presented  by  customers  or  clerks,  it  at  once  creates 
a  lack  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  those  coming  in  contact  with  him,  and 
in  many  cases  his  judgment  is  doubted.  A  bank  officer  should  always 
be  courteous;  there  is  no  good  reason  why  a  person  who  is  the  custodian 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


33 


of  Other  people’s  money  should  exhibit  a  disposition  that  is  overbearing- 
and  disagreeable. 

Many  bank  officers  expend  a  good  part  of  their  time  in  looking  after 
detail  work,  which,  if  properly  systematized,  could  be  satisfactorily  han¬ 
dled  by  others.  An  officer  has  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  institu¬ 
tion —  he  is  supposed  to  have  certain  capabilities  that  other  men  do  not 
possess  —  to  be  able  to  handle  and  place  men  so  that  they  will  do  the  best 
work,  and,  in  general,  to  be  the  governing  power  of  the  bank.  An  offi¬ 
cer  should  be  able  to  select  from  his  force  competent  clerks  to  attend  to 
comparatively  unimportant  matters  which  require  research  and  time. 
This  will  relieve  his  shoulders  of  many  burdens,  keep  his  mind  free 
for  large  matters,  and  enable  him  to  grasp  the  reins  of  the  whole  bank  » 
and  guide  it  to  success. 

The  officers  of  a  bank  should  work  as  a  harmonious  whole  for  the 
welfare  of  the  institution.  No  bank  can  be  truly  successful  when 
its  officers  are  continually  at  loggerheads  with  one  another,  or  when 
there  is  jealousy  among  them,  and  one  tries  to  take  advantage  of 
another.  They  should  have  strong  confidence  in  one  another,  and 
should  remember  the  old  but  ever  true  adage:  In  union  there  is 
strength. 

One  of  the  most  essential  qualities  of  a  bank  officer  is  executive  abil¬ 
ity.  A  story  is  told  of  an  elderly  lady  whose  daughter  attended  a  fash¬ 
ionable  boarding-school.  At  the  beginning  of  her  second  year’s  course, 
the  mother  inquired  of  the  principal  how  the  young  lady  was  progress¬ 
ing.  She  was  informed  that  her  daughter  was  doing  nicely  but  that  she 
lacked  one  thing — capacity.  The  old  lady  immediately  took  out  her 
pocketbook,  inquired  the  cost,  and  said  she  was  prepared  to  pay  for  it. 
Executive  ability,  like  capacity,  cannot  be  purchased,  but  must  be  ac¬ 
quired  by  long  study  and  hard  work,  and  even  then  some  men  never 
seem  to  attain  it.  This  should  be  one  of  the  chief  virtues  of  a  bank  offi¬ 
cer,  and  is  one  which  a  board  of  directors  should  carefully  consider  when 
selecting  him.  The  position  of  the  bank  officer  is  trying  in  more  ways 
than  one.  He  must  know  how  to  say  no  to  a  man  who  keeps  a  small  ac¬ 
count,  when  a  five  thousand  dollar  loan  or  discount  is  th^  object  of  his 
visit,  and  say  it  in  such  a  way  that  it  will  leave  no  sting. 

It  would  hardly  be  fair,  after  discussing  the  officers  of  a  bank,  to  pass 
over  the  board  of  directors,  which  is  an  invaluable  adjunct  to  every  well- 
managed  bank.  The  directors  are  the  counselors  of  the  officers,  but 
they  should  not  assume  the  responsibilities  or  duties  of  the  officers. 
They  may  advise  or  direct  concerning  the  general  policy,  but  should 
leave  details  to  the  executive  management,  and  before  entering  into  any 
transaction  for  the  bank,  they  should  consult  the  officers  and  secure  their 
approval. 

13—3 


34 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


They  should  be  broad  and  liberal-minded  men  of  high  character  and 
standing — men  who  command  respect  in  the  community.  An  ideal 
board  of  directors  should  be  composed  of  leading  men  who  are  actively 
engaged  in  the  different  business  interests  of  the  community,  so  that 
when  an  offering  for  discount  is  received  from  any  of  the  various 
branches  of  trade,  there  will  be  some  member  of  the  board  who  is 
able  to  pass  upon  it.  By  associating  this  class  of  men  in  your  board,  you 
are  likely  to  bring  to  the  bank  customers  from  the  entire  community, 
and  the  bank  will  not  be  managed  in  the  interests  of  a  clique. 

There  is  a  feeling  in  some  quarters  that  directors  should  not  be  bor¬ 
rowers  from  their  own  bank,  and,  in  fact,  they  should  keep  their 
accounts  elsewhere ;  but  if  a  director  does  not  ask  any  more  than  his 
account  entitles  him  to  receive,  if  he  will  comply  with  the  conditions 
as  regards  security,  and  within  the  limitations  of  the  National  Bank  act, 
and  does  not  try  to  make  better  terms  for  himself  than  he  would  give 
to  other  customers  in  like  circumstances,  there  is  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  be  a  borrower  from  the  bank. 

The  third  important  feature  of  a  bank  is  its  employees.  They 
must  be,  first  and  foremost,  loyal  to  the  bank  and  its  officers.  No  institu¬ 
tion  should  tolerate  in  its  employ  a  man  who  is  disloyal  or  who  does  not 
have  its  active  interests  at  heart.  They  should  learn  this  lesson  when 
they  first  enter  the  institution.  The  employees  should  be  men  of  good 
education.  Some  institutions  are  giving  preference  more  and  more  to 
young  men  who  have  graduated  from  business  colleges,  as  they  have 
proved  to  be  more  competent  to  take  up  the  general  work  of  the 
bank.  One  of  the  best  recommendations  a  young  man  can  have  to-day 
in  applying  for  a  position  in  a  bank  is  a  diploma  from  a  good  business 
college. 

The  employees  of  a  bank  sometimes  demur  against  what  they  call 
espionage  upon  their  private  conduct,  saying  that  it  is  very  humiliating 
to  be  suspected  of  wrong-doing.  Someone  has  said:  Watchfulness  is 
not  synonymous  with  suspicion.  With  a  man’s  politics  or  religion,  a 
bank  should  not  interfere ;  but  no  possible  check  should  be  omitted  upon 
any  officer  or  employee,  and  all  honest  men  should  court  these  checks 
as  good  business  methods.  An  employee  of  a  bank,  by  reason  of  the 
position  of  trust  involved,  should  keep  his  private  life  above  suspicion. 
The  least  tendency  to  dissipation  or  fast  life  should  work  his  discharge. 
This  sort  of  life  has  been  the  foundation  of  more  than  one-half  of  all 
the  defalcations  in  banks.  Neither  should  an  employee  ever  permit 
himself  to  be  open  to  the  temptation  incident  to  speculation  of  any  sort. 

A  bank,  on  the  other  hand,  has  its  duty  to  perform  toward  its  em¬ 
ployees.  It  should  treat  them  fairly  and  justly  in  the  matter  of  salary, 
not  overwork  them,  and  give  them  a  reasonable  vacation  period.  A 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


35 


fair  compensation  for  service  rendered  should  be  the  spirit  that  governs 
all  institutions  in  regulating  the  salaries  of  employees. 

No  bank  can  be  thoroughly  successful  without  the  hearty  cooperation 
of  those  in  its  employ ;  and,  as  an  efficient  and  loyal  service  is  indis¬ 
pensable  to  good  management,  the  officers  of  a  bank  should  advance  its 
prosperity  by  securing  the  very  best  service  that  can  be  obtained.  They 
should  recognize  that  if  the  work  of  a  bank  has  been  well  done,  this  re¬ 
sult  has  not  been  achieved  by  the  officers  alone,  but  through  the  well- 
directed  efforts  of  all  —  that  each  clerk  contributes  his  share  in  handling 
the  business  of  the  bank  and  is  entitled  to  credit  therefor.  Every  bank 
should  have  a  system  of  promotion,  and  matters  pertaining  to  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  the  employees  should  receive  careful  attention.  No  bank  should 
ever  go  outside  of  its  own  working  force  for  a  man  to  fill  an  advanced 
position,  if  it  has  in  its  ranks  a  man  capable  of  discharging  the  duties  of 
that  office. 

Fourth,  the  bank’s  machinery  must  be  considered.  Here  we  come  to  a 
point  where  a  whole  day  could  be  spent  in  considering  different  plans. 
By  machinery,  I  refer  more  particularly  to  the  internal  working  of  a 
bank.  Experience  has  taught  me  that  the  machinery  of  a  bank  should 
be  as  simple  as  possible,  free  from  all  complications,  so  that  a  person  of 
ordinary  intelligence  could  go  into  the  bank  and  understand  its  book¬ 
keeping.  Every  improvement  that  will  save  time  and  labor  should  be 
introduced. 

Careful  statistics  of  the  various  transactions  of  the  bank  should  be 
gathered,  and  the  general  summary  of  its  condition,  as  it  comes  to  the 
officers,  should  be  so  plain  that  he  who  runs  may  read.  The  stationery 
should  be  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  institution — neat,  plain,  without 
flourishes,  and  business-like.  I  do  not  believe  in  fancy  letter-headings 
or  envelopes.  The  machinery  should  be  well  oiled  by  employing  plenty 
of  help.  Short  help  should  be  the  last  economy  practised  in  a  bank. 
Large  institutions  should  employ  at  least  one  or  two  extra  men  to  fill 
up  any  gap  that  may  be  occasioned  by  illness,  so  that  the  business  may 
not  become  congested  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  two  or  three  clerks. 

I  cannot  close  these  remarks  without  referring  to  the  position  a  bank 
should  take  with  regard  to  its  neighbors  and  competitors.  There  should 
be  a  community  of  interest  between  banks,  not  only  in  large  cities, 
but  throughout  the  country.  ^^No  man  liveth  to  himself,  and  we  all 
need  the  help  and  cooperation  of  our  neighbors.  There  should  be  a 
stronger  bond  of  fellowship  between  banks,  and  in  this  way,  if  in  no 
other,  we  can  avoid  some  of  the  large  losses  which  come  upon  us  from 
time  to  time. 

There  is  business  for  all,  and  every  bank  officer  should  face  the  mat¬ 
ter  of  honest  competition  fairly  and  squarely,  and  try  by  all  the  means 


36 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


in  his  power  to  keep  his  bank  in  a  healthy  condition.  I  look  forward  tO 
the  time  when  all  the  state  banking  associations  in  the  United  States 
will  be  joined  in  some  union  that  will  make  them  of  still  greater  service 
to  their  members,  as  well  as  to  our  beloved  country. 


Bankrupt. —  One  who  fails  or  cannot  pay  his  just  debts. 

Bankruptcy  has  a  dual  meaning;  it  is  a  state  of  inability  to  pay 
all  debts,  and  the  word  also  designates  the  process  by  which 
an  individual  or  a  corporation  may  obtain  a  discharge  of  his 
or  its  indebtedness,  by  surrendering  his  or  its  property  and 
otherwise  complying  with  the  law.  A  bankruptcy  law  enacted 
by  Congress  in  1800  was  repealed  in  1803.  In  1837  a  commercial 
crisis  in  this  country  resulted  in  failures  to  the  extent  of  about  $100,- 
000,000.  In  consequence  of  the  panic  that  ensued,  Congress  passed 
another  bankruptcy  act  in  1841,  but  repealed  it  in  1843.  Most  of  the 
banks  suspended  specie  payment  in  1857,  during  the  financial  panic. 
The  Lowell  act,  passed  in  1867,  was  in  force  until  1878.  The  existing 
law  dates  from  1898.^  During  the  intervals  when  there  was  no 
national  bankruptcy  law,  all  matters  pertaining  to  insolvencies  were 
under  the  control  of  the  states. 

Bankrupt  Law. —  A  law  under  which  a  man  surrenders  all  his 
property  to  assignees  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors,  and  receives  a 
discharge  from  all  indebtedness  and  freedom  from  liability  against 
future  acquired  property. 

Banks.  —  A  bank  is  an  institution  for  receiving,  holding,  and  lend¬ 
ing  money,  and,  when  a  national  bank,  for  the  issue  of  money.  The 
banking  institutions  of  this  country  are.  national,  state,  private,  sav¬ 
ings,  and  loan  and  trust  companies.  In  1780  the  Continental  Congress 
granted  a  charter  to  the  Bank  of  North  America.  Doubt  arose  as  to 
the  power  of  that  body  to  perform  this  act,  and  the  bank  was  rechar¬ 
tered  by  Pa.  in  1781.  By  1791  twm  other  banks,  one  in  Boston  and 
one  in  New  York,  had  been  founded.  In  that  year  Congress  estab¬ 
lished  the  Bank  of  the  U.  S.,  which  had  an  authorized  existence  of  20 
years  and  a  capital  of  f  10,000,000,  one-fifth  to  be  supplied  by  the  Fed¬ 
eral  Government.  In  1811  Congress  declined  to  recharter  the  bank, 
and  the  country  had  no  other  than  state  banks  until,  in  1816,  the 
Second  U.  S.  Bank  was  established  to  run  20  years,  with  a  capital  of 
$35,000,000,  of  which  $28,000,000  was  represented  by  government 
stocks.  It  had  25  directors,  of  whom  five  were  appointed  by  the  U.  S. 
This  bank  was  the  custodian  of  the  public  funds,  and  the  veto  by 
President  Jackson  of  the  act  renewing  its  charter  was  made  an  issue 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


37 


in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1832.  After  the  election,  the  national 
funds  were  removed  from  the  bank  and  deposited  in  state  banks, 
which  emitted  bills  indifferently  secured  and  of  various  denominations. 
This  system  worked  so  disastrously  to  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
country  that  a  national  bank  act,  suggested  by  Secretary  Chase,  was 
passed  in  1863  and  amended  in  1864.  It  is  modeled  on  the  old  New 
York  State  banking  law,  by  which  the  circulating  notes  of  all  the 
banks  of  that  state  were  secured  by  stocks  and  bonds,  one-half  of 
which  had  to  be  securities  of  the  state  itself.  Under  the  existing 
national  banking  law,  any  five  persons  with  a  total  capital  of  $50,000'' 
are  empowered  to  open  a  bank  and  issue  circulating  notes  to  the 
amount  of  90  per  cent,  of  their  capital  invested  in  U.  S.  bonds,  but 
not  to  exceed  90  per  cent,  of  the  par  value  of  those  bonds.  In  cities 
of  more  than  6,000  population,  the  minimum  capital  is  $100,000  and 
where  the  population  is  more  than  50,000,  double  that  amount.  The 
same  ratio  of  circulating  medium  to  capital  is  maintained  everywhere. 
The  existing  law  has  added  some  $350,000,000  to  the  currency. 

Banks,  Postal  Savings. —  Originated  in  England,  where  they  were 
established  in  1861.  The  system  was  not  general  at  first,  but  it  was 
eventually  extended  to  all  the  money-order  offices  in  the  kingdom. 
The  depositor  is  given  a  pass-book,  in  which  his  deposit  is  credited, 
whereupon  the  postmaster-general  is  notified  of  the  transaction  by  the 
official  and  immediate  receiver  of  the  money,  and  the  deposit  is  ac¬ 
knowledged  by  the  department.  The  government,  which  is  responsi¬ 
ble  for  all  money  received,  invests  the  latter  in  national  funds  and 
the  depositors  are  in  every  conceivable  way  secured  against  loss.  So 
elastic  is  the  system  that  the  depositor  may  apply  for  repayment  at 
any  post  office  in  the  kingdom  and  may  direct  that  payment  be  made 
to  him  there  or  at  any  other  postal  savings  bank.  His  order  is  sent 
to  the  postmaster-general,  from  whom  he  receives  a  warrant  on  the 
office  named.  When  he  presents  this,  with  his  pass-book,  the  money 
is  paid.  Deposits  may  range  from  one  shilling  to  ^50  in  one  year, 
but  the  total,  including  interest,  which  is  2-J  per  cent.,  must  never 
exceed  ^£200.  The  system  is  especially  adapted  to  the  needs  of 
people  who  are  remote  from  any  regular  savings  institution,  and  it 
has  found  favor  in  continental  countries.  Several  postmasters-general, 
endorsed  by  the  Presidents,  have  urged  its  adoption  in  the  U.  S.,  and 
bills  to  that  end  have  been  repeatedly  introduced.  The  system  is 
growing  in  public  favor  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  something  of 
its  kind  will  be  established  in  the  United  States  in  the  near  future. 

Barratry. —  Cheating  or  fraud  on  the  part  of  a  ship  master  against 
the  owners  or  insurers  of  a  vessel. 


38 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Bill. — An  account  of  goods  sold  or  delivered,  or  for  work  done, 
with  items,  price,  and  dates. 

Bill  Clerk. —  One  who  makes  out  the  bills  of  goods  sold. 

Bill  of  Entry.  —  A  written  aecount  of  goods  entered  the  custom 
house  for  importation  or  for  exportation. 

Bill  of  Exchange. —  An  order,  drawn  on  a  person  in  a  distant 
plaee,  requesting  the  payment  of  a  sum  of  money  to  another  person 
or  his  order. 

Bill  of  Health. —  A  certificate  from  the  health  authorities  that  a 
ship’s  company  is  in  good  health  on  leaving  port. 

Bill  of  Lading. —  An  aceount  of  goods  shipped  and  an  aeknowl- 
edgment  of  their  reeeipt  and  promise  to  forward  safel)^  made  by  the 
agent  of  the  transportation  company. 

Bill  of  Parcels. — A  bill  accompanying  a  sale  of  goods  fully  item, 
ized. 

Bill  of  Right. — A  form  of  entry  at  the  custom  house  which  pro¬ 
vides  for  a  provisional  landing  of  goods  pending  further  information. 

Bill  of  Sale.  —  A  writing  which  conveys  personal  property  to  an¬ 
other  for  a  eonsideration.  It  corresponds  to  a  deed  of  real  estate. 

Bills  Payable. —  Promissory  notes  or  drafts  held  against  a  firm  by 
other  parties. 

Bills  Receivable. —  Promissory  notes  or  drafts  due  to  an  individ¬ 
ual  or  firm  from  others. 

Bond. —  A  written  obligation  to  pay  a  debt  or  to  faithfully  perform 
some  duty.  A  mortgage  as  an  additional  security  usually  accompanies 
a  bond.  The  penalty  attaehed  to  a  bond  is  usually  twiee  the  sum  for 
which  one  is  bound.  Witnesses  and  formal  acknowledgment  are  nee- 
essary. 

Bonded  Warehouse. —  A  government  warehouse  for  storing  goods 
until  duties  are  paid. 

Bonus.  —  A  premium  paid  for  a  loan,  charter,  or  privilege. 

BOOK-KEEPING.— 

Book-keeping  is  the  art  of  recording  business  transaetions  in  a 
systematie  manner,  so  that  a  proprietor  may  know  the  true  state  of 
his  business  and  property  at  any  time. 

The  same  system  is  not  used  by  all  business  houses,  but  the  differ¬ 
ence  is  only  in  form^  not  in  the  principles  employed.  If  these 
principles  are  once  learned,  a  set  of  books  can  be  kept  in  whatever 
enterprise  the  book-keeper  may  obtain  employment, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


39 


There  are  two  methods  of  book-keeping  in  general  use,  termed 
Single  Entry  and  Double  Entry.  In  single  entry  book-keeping  only 
personal  accounts  are  kept  in  the  ledger.  In  double  entry  book¬ 
keeping,  accounts  are  kept  in  the  ledger  with  things  as  well  as 
persons. 

Single  Entry. —  The  books  to  be  used  depend  much  upon  the 
character  and  extent  of  the  business.  Those  usually  employed  are 
Cash  Book,  Bill  Book,  Journal  and  Ledger.  Other  books,  such  as 
Sales  Book,  Order  Book,  Shipping  Book,  etc.,  are  sometimes  used. 

The  Cash  Book  contains  the  receipts  and  payments  of  cash.  The 
difference  between  the  sum  of  the  receipts  of  cash  and  the  sum  of  the 
payments  of  cash  will  show  at  any  time  the  amount  of  cash  on  hand. 

The  Bill  Book  contains  a  record  of  all  written  obligations  issued 
by  the  proprietor  to  others,  and  of  those  in  his  possession  made  by 
others.  Such  obligations  in  favor  of  the  proprietor  are  called  Bills 
Receivable.,  and  those  made  by  him  in  favor  of  others  are  called  Bills 
Payable. 

The  Journal  contains  all  debits  and  credits  to  persons  growing  out 
of  transactions  with  such  persons.  An  explanation  of  each  transaction 
should  be  made,  so  that  anyone  may  understand  all  important  facts 
regarding  them. 

A  clear  and  complete  history  of  every  transaction  should  be  kept, 
and  the  book  formerly  used  for  this  purpose  is  called  a  Day  Book,  or 
Blotter,  though  the  Journal  is  now  generally  used  instead. 

The  Ledger  is  the  account  book.  In  it  the  debits  and  credits  are 
called  Accounts,  and  the  grouping  of  these  is  called  Posting. 

Debit,  abbreviated  Dr.,  shows  either  that  the  person  after  whose 
name  it  is  entered  has  become  indebted  to  the  proprietor,  or  that  the 
proprietor  has  got  out  of  his  debt,  in  part  or  in  whole. 

Credit,  abbreviated  Cr. ,  shows  that  the  proprietor  has  become  in¬ 
debted  to  the  person  after  whose  name  it  is  entered,  or  that  such  per¬ 
son  has  got  out  of  the  proprietor’s  debt,  in  part  or  in  whole. 

A  Resource  is  any  kind  of  property  belonging  to  the  business;  as, 
bills  receivable,  an  account  owing  to  the  proprietor,  cash  on  hand  or 
in  bank,  real  estate,  stocks,  bonds,  mortgages,  stock,  furniture,  fixtures, 
unpaid  interest,  etc. 

A  Liability  is  a  debt  of  any  kind  owing  by  the  proprietor  as  an 
outstanding  note  or  a  debt  due  to  another  person. 

Investment,  as  used  in  book-keeping,  means  the  capital  put  into  the 
business.  It  may  be  cash,  property,  real  estate,  amounts  due  from 
others;  in  short,  anything  of  value. 

The  Present  Worth  of  the  proprietor  is  the  net  amount  of  his  in¬ 
terest  in  the  business  at  any  stated  time.  To  ascertain  present  worth, 


40 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


find  the  difference  between  the  resources  and  the  liabilities.  If  the 
resources  exceed  the  liabilities,  the  difference  shows  that  the  proprietor 
has  property  in  the  business  to  that  amount.  If  the  liabilities  exceed 
the  resources,  the  business  is  insolvent ;  that  is,  there  is  not  sufficient 
property  in  the  business  to  pay  its  debts. 

Net  Gain  is  the  excess  of  present  worth  over  the  investment. 

Net  loss  is  the  excess  of  investment  over  present  worth. 

The  term  Cash  is  applied  to  specie,  government  bills,  bank  bills, 
bank  checks,  sight  drafts,  postal  notes,  money  orders,  and  all  other  pa¬ 
per  that  is  payable  on  demand. 

In  keeping  books  by  single  entry,  the  following  rules  for  debit  and 
credit  should  be  observed:  — 

The  Proprietor  is  credited  with  the  sum  of  his  resources  at  begin¬ 
ning  of  business;  with  subsequent  investments;  and  with  his  net 
gain,  if  any,  when  books  are  closed. 

The  Proprietor  is  debited  with  the  sum  of  his  liabilities  at  begin¬ 
ning  of  business;  with  sums  he  draws  from  the  business;  and  with 
his  net  loss,  if  any,  when  the  books  are  closed. 

Others  are  debited  in  the  Journal  when  they  get  into  the  proprie¬ 
tor’s  debt;  and  when  the  proprietor  gets  out  of  their  debt,  partly  or 
wholly. 

Others  are  credited  in  the  Journal  when  the  proprietor  gets  into 
their  debt;  and  when  they  get  out  of  his  debt,  partly  or  wholly. 

Cash  is  debited  in  the  Cash  Book  when  it  is  received  into  the  busi¬ 
ness  from  any  source. 

Cash  is  credited  in  the  Cash  Book  when  it  is  paid  out,  for  what¬ 
ever  purpose. 

Bills  Receivable  are  entered  in  the  Bill  Book  as  soon  as  received, 
together  with  the  date  of  the  note  or  acceptance,  the  date  on  which 
it  will  fall  due,  the  name  of  the  party  who  will  pay  it,  name  of  en¬ 
dorser,  if  any,  name  of  the  place  where  payable,  and  the  amount. 
When  paid,  this  fact  is  indicated  in  the  proper  place. 

Bills  Payable  are  entered  in  the  Bill  Book  with  date  of  issue,  date 
of  maturity,  name  of  the  payee,  where  payable,  and  amount;  when 
paid,  entry  of  that  fact  is  made  in  the  -proper  column. 

The  Cash  Book.^ — There  are  two  methods  of  making  entries  in 
the  Cash  Book.  One  is  to  have  its  pages  ruled  for  two  sets  of  figures, 
the  left-hand  column  being  used  for  receipts  of  cash,  and  the  right- 
hand  column  for  payments  of  cash.  The  other  method,  which  is  safer 
and  more  commonly  used,  is  pursued  by  using  the  opposite  pages,  the 
left-hand  page  being  used  in  place  of  the  left-hand  column  in  the 
first  method  and  the  right-hand  page  being  used  in  place  of  the  right- 
hand  column. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


41 


Suppose  the  following  transactions  to  have  been  made;  — 

January^  1901. 

1.  Commenced  business  this  day,  investing  as  capital  $1,000  cash. 

2.  Bought  iron  safe  for  which  I  paid  cash,  $100. 

3.  Bought  20  barrels  of  flour  at  $4  per  bbh,  for  which  I  paid 
cash,  $80. 

4.  Bought  a  horse  and  wagon  for  which  I  paid  cash,  $100  and  $75 
respectively. 

Sold,  for  cash,  4  barrels  of  flour  at  $7  per  bbh,  $28. 

6.  Sold,  for  cash,  2  barrels  of  flour  at  $7  per  bbh,  $14. 

7.  Bought,  for  cash,  100  bushels  of  oats  at  50  cents  per  bushel,  $50. 

8.  Sold,  for  cash,  25  bushels  of  oats  at  60  cents  per  bushel,  $15. 

9.  Bought,  for  cash,  200  pounds  of  Java  coffee  at  20  cents  per 
pound,  $40. 

10.  Bought,  for  cash,  50  pounds  of  Oolong  tea  at  50  cents  per 
pound,  $25. 

11.  Sold,  for  cash,  10  pounds  of  coffee  at  30  cents  per  pound,  $3. 
The  Cash  Book  entries  covering  these  transactions  should  be  made 

as  shown  by  Diagram  No.  i. 

Diagram  No.  i  —  Cash  Book 


January,  1901 


I 

Investment 

$1000 

5 

4  bbls.  flour 

$7 

28 

6 

2  bbls.  flour 

$7 

14 

8 

25  bushels  oats 

.60 

15 

II 

10  lbs.  coffee 

•30 

3 

2 

Safe 

|ioo 

3 

20  bbls.  flour 

$4 

80 

4 

Horse 

100 

4 

Wagon 

75 

7 

100  bushels  oats 

•50 

50 

9 

200  tbs.  Java  coffee 

.20 

40 

10 

50  lbs.  Oolong  tea 

•50 

25 

The  entries  for  the  remainder  of  the  month  of  January  should  be 
made  in  a  similar  manner,  when  the  month  of  February  should  be 
started. 

To  balance  the  Cash  Book,  add  the  amounts  on  the  left-hand,  or 
debit,  side  of  it,  and  enter  the  total  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 
Do  the  same  with  the  right-hand,  or  credit,  side.  If  there  be  an 
excess  of  received  cash  over  cash  paid  out,  it  will  represent  the 
balance  on  hand,  which  amount  should  be  entered  below  the  total  of 
the  entries  on  the  credit  side  and  a  total  entered  at  the  bottom  of  the 
page,  which  total  will  obviously  balance  the  total  on  the  debit  side. 


42 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


It  is  customary  to  balance,  or  close^  the  Cash  Book  at  the  end  of  each 
day,  carrying  the  balance  to  the  following  day. 

The  Journal. —  The  journal,  as  previously  stated,  contains  all 
debits  and  credits  to  persons  arising  from  transactions  with  such 
persons,  with  clear  explanations  of  such  transactions. 

The  following  transactions  are  represented  by  the  Journal  entries 
shown  by  Diagram  No.  2 :  — 

January^  1901. 

1.  Commenced  business  this  day  with  a  cash  capital  of  $1,000. 

2.  Bought  of  John  Smallwood,  on  account,  at  10  days,  50  barrels 
of  flour  at  $5,  $250. 

3.  Sold  Henry  J.  Miller,  on  account,  at  5  days,  10  barrels  of  flour 
at  $6,  $60. 

4.  Bought  of  S.  M.  Smith,  on  account,  at  thirty  days,  40  pounds 
of  coffee  at  20  cents,  $8;  and  40  pounds  of  tea  at  50  cents,  $20. 

8.  Credit  Henry  J.  Miller,  cash,  $60.  , 


Diagram  No.  2. —  Journal 


January,  1901. 

1. 

Proprietor 

Investment. 

2. 

John  Smallwood 
50  bbls.  flour  at 

3- 

Henry  J.  Miller 
10  bbls.  flour  at 

4- 

S.  M.  Smith 

40  lbs.  coffee  at 
40  lbs.  tea  at 
8. 

Henry  J.  Miller 
Ca.sh  in  full  of 


Cr. 

|iooo 

Cr. 

• 

$5 

250 

Dr. 

$6 

60 

Cr. 

.20 

8 

•50 

20 

28 

Cr. 

60 

The  Ledger. —  Posting  the  Ledger  is  performed  by  carrying  to  that 
book  all  of  the  debits  and  credits  to  persons  that  are  contained  in  the 
Journal,  opening  an  account  with  each  of  such  persons  by  placing  the 
amounts  for  which  he  is  debited  in  the  left-hand.  Dr.,  side  of  his 
account,  and  the  amounts  for  which  he  is  credited  on  the  right-hand, 
or  Cr.,  side. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


43 


The  proprietor’s  name  is  usually  the  first  that  appears  in  the 
Journal,  hence  his  account  is  naturally  the  first  to  be  opened  in  the 
Ledger.  Whenever  an  entry  is  made  in  the  Ledger  the  page  on 
which  such  entry  is  made  in  the  Journal  is  shown  also,  and,  similarly,* 
an  entry  of  the  Ledger  page  is  made  opposite  the  corresponding  entry 
in  the  Journal.  These  figures  operate  as  a  check,  showing  that  the 
entry  in  the  Journal  has  been  posted  to  the  Ledger.  Always  check 
each  entry. 

The  entries  shown  on  the  sample  leaf  of  the  Journal  (Diagram  No. 
2)  should  appear  then,  under  their  proper  dates  in  the  Ledger  as 
shown  by  Diagram  No.  3. 


Diagram  JNo.  3. —  Dedger 


Jour- 

Jour- 

1901 

nal 

Proprietor 

igoi 

nal 

Page 

Page 

John  Smallwood 

Jan. 

i 

Investment 

i 

$1,000 

2 

Mdse. 

I 

250 

Henry  J.  Miller 

Jan. 

3 

Mdse. 

I 

60 

8 

Bal.  of  acct. 

I 

60 

S.  M.  Smith 

4 

Mdse. 

i 

28 

Note.— Enter  only  two  accounts  on  each  page  of  the  Ledger,  one  occupying  the  upper  half, 
and  one  occupying  the  lower  half. 


When  an  account  in  the  Ledger  is  made  to  balance  by  a  payment, 
it  should  be  ruled  and  footed  at  once.  See  ledger  account  of  Henry 
J.  Miller. 

From  the  rules  and  examples  given  the  student  should  now  be 
able  to  know  immediately  in  what  book  or  books  every  transaction 
should  be  entered.  Suppose  a  record  of  the  business  to  have  been 
kept  in  the  manner  indicated  up  to  February  i,  1901,  and  that  on 
that  date  the  proprietor  desired  to  know  the  results  of  his  business 
operations.  As  previously  stated,  the  present  worth  may  be  ascer¬ 
tained  by  finding  the  differenee  between  the  amount  of  resources  and 
the  amount  of  liabilities,  and  the  net  gain  or  net  loss  may  be  ascer¬ 
tained  by  finding  the  difference  between  the  investment  and  the 
present  worth.  To  find  the  exaet  results,  therefore,  the  following  di¬ 
rections  should  be  earefully  observed:  — 

First,  make  an  inventory  of  all  stoek  and  property  on  hand,  esti¬ 
mating  the  stock  at  cost  unless  there  has  been  a  material  change  in 
its  value  since  it  was  purchased.  To  this  result  add  the  amount  of 


44 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


cash  in  hand  which  is  obtained  by  deducting  from  the  amount  of  cash 
received,  as  shown  by  the  debit  side  of  the  Cash  Book,  the  amount 
paid  as  shown  by  the  credit  side  of  it.  To  this  second  total  add  the 
net  amount  of  personal  accounts  in  the  proprietor’s  favor.  These 
items  constitute  the  resources  of  the  business. 

Next,  find  the  total  liabilities  of  the  business  which  are  made  up 
of  the  personal  accounts  which  the  proprietor  has  to  pay.  The  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  resources  and  liabilities  will  be  the  present  worth 
of  the  proprietor’s  business,  and  the  net  gain  or  net  loss  will,  as  stated, 
be  the  difference  between  the  present  worth  and  the  original  invest¬ 
ment.  This  is  called  a  Statement  of  Resources  and  Liabilities.  It 
is  customary  to  make  a  statement  of  this  kind  semi-annually  or  an¬ 
nually.  The  period  of  one  month  here  given  is  only  for  the  purpose 
of.  illustration. 

When  the  proprietor  keeps  accounts  at  a  bank,  a  Bank  Account 
should  be  kept  which  will  be  the  same  as  a  personal  account.  Debit 
the  bank  with  all  deposits  made  and  credit  it  with  all  checks  drawn. 
There  is,  however,  no  necessity  of  keeping  a  Ledger  account  with  the 
bank,  as  the  record  of  the  currency  and  checks  on  hand,  and  the  cash 
in  the  bank,  may  all  be  kept  in  the  Cash  Book  as  though  it  were  all 
currency.  This  last  observation  presupposes  a  record  of  checks  to  be 
kept  in  the  Cash  Book,  which  is  always  done. 

Double  Entry. —  As  before  stated,  in  double  entry  book-keeping, 
accounts  are  kept  in  the  Ledger  with  things  as  well  as  persons.  Ev¬ 
ery  kind  of  property  belonging  to  the  business  is  represented  by  some 
account  in  the  Ledger,  and  every  obligation  due  the  proprietor,  as 
well  as  his  obligations  to  others,  is  represented  by  some  account. 

The  books  usually  employed  are  Cash  Book^  Journal^  Ledger^  and 
Bill  Book.  Sometimes  a  Day  Book^  Sales  Book^  and  Bivoice  Book  are 
used.  Whether  the  latter  books  should  be  used  depends  upon  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  business.  The  Day  Book  is  seldom  used, 
the  entries  being  made  with  full  explanations  in  the  Cash  Book, 
Journal,  and  Sales  Book. 

The  Cash  Book,  Journal,  Ledger,  and  Bill  Book  have  already  been 
described  in  connection  with  the  single  entry  method.  The  Sales 
Book  is  designed  to  contain  a  record  of  all  sales  of  merchandise.  The 
Invoice  Book  is  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  record  of  all  purchases 
of  merchandise. 

In  keeping  books  by  double  entry,  the  following  rules  of  debit  and 
credit  should  be  observed:  — 

The  Proprietor  is  credited  with  the  sum  of  his  resoui^ces  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  business;  with  subsequent  investments  in  the  business; 
and  with  his  net  gain,  if  any,  when  the  books  are  closed. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


45 


The  Proprietor  is  debited  with  the  sum  of  his  liabilities,  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  business;  with  such  sums  as  he  may  draw  out  of  the  busi¬ 
ness  from  time  to  time ;  and  with  his  net  loss,  if  any,  when  the  books 
are  closed. 

Persons  are  debited  when  they  become  indebted  to  the  proprietor; 
and  when  the  proprietor  gets  out  of  their  debt,  in  whole  or  in  part. 

Persons  are  credited  when  the  proprietor  gets  into  their  debt;  and 
when  they  get  out  of  the  proprietor’s  debt,  in  whole  or  in  part. 

Cash  is  debited  when  it  is  received  into  the  business  from  any 
source. 

Cash  is  credited  when  it  is  paid  out  for  any  purpose. 

Bills  Receivable  are  debited  with  all  negotiable  written  obligations  of 
other  persons  when  they  are  received. 

Bills  Receivable  are  credited  with  all  negotiable  written  obligations 
of  other  persons  when  they  are  paid  or  otherwise  disposed  of. 

Bills  Payable  are  credited  with  all  negotiable  written  obligations  of 
the  proprietor  when  issued. 

Bills  Payable  are  debited  with  all  negotiable  written  obligations  of 
the  proprieter  when  they  are  paid  or  otherwise  canceled. 

Merchandise  is  debited  with  the  cost  of  all  merchandise  purchased. 

Merchandise  is  credited  with  the  proceeds  of  all  sales  of  merchandise. 

Expense  is  debited  with  all  expenses  of  the  business;  as,  clerk  hire, 
fuel,  light,  feed,  and  miscellaneous  expenses. 

Expense  is  credited  when  anything  of  value  is  disposed  of,  which 
was  previously  debited  to  expense. 

Interest  is  debited  when  interest  or  discount  is  allowed  to  others. 

Interest  is  credited  when  interest  or  discount  is  allowed  to  the  pro¬ 
prietor. 

Suppose  a  business  to  have  been  started  on  January  i,  1901,  and 
transactions  to  have  been  made  during  the  first  few  days  of  the  month 
as  follows :  — 


January^  1901. 

1.  Commenced  business  this  day  with  a  cash  capital  of  $3,000. 

2.  Bought  a  horse  and  wagon  for  use  of  the  business  for  which 
I  paid  cash,  $200. 

3.  Bought  of  John  Simms,  for  cash,  100  bbls.  of  flour  at  $5,  $500. 

4.  Bought , of  Chas.  Smith,  on  account,  at  30  days,  100  pounds  of 

coffee  at  20  cents,  $20. 

5.  Sold  to  J.  R.  Smallwood,  for  cash,  5  bbls.  of  flour  at  $6,  $30. 

6.  Sold  to  J.  T.  Anderson,  on  account,  at  30  days,  10  pounds  of 

coffee  at  30  cents,  $3. 


4?) 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Such  transactions  should  be  shown  in  the  Journal  as  indicated  by 
Diagram  No.  5. 


Diagram  No.  5. —  Journal  (Double  Entry) 


January  i,  1901 

Commenced  a  general  pro¬ 
duce  business  with  a  cash  cap¬ 
ital  of  $3000. 

Cash  Investment 

I3000 

To  Proprietor 

$3000 

2. 

Expense  Horse  &  Wagon 

200 

To  Cash 

200 

3- 

Mdse.  100  bbls.  flour  at  $s 

500 

To  Cash  bought  of  John 

Simms 

« 

500 

4. 

Mdse.  100  lbs.  coffee  at  .20 

20 

To  Chas.  Smith  at  30  days 

1 

20 

5- 

Cash  5  bbls.  flour  at  $6 

30 

To  Mdse.  Sold  J.  R.  Small¬ 
wood 

30 

6. 

J.  T.  Anderson 

10  lbs-  coffee  at  .30 

3 

t 

To  Mdse.  at  30  days 

3 

From  the  rules  for  debit  and  credit  above  given  it  will  be  seen 
that  instead  of  only  one  posting  being  required  for  each  Journal 
entry,  as  in  the  Single  Entry  method,  two  postings  are  necessary  in 
every  case,  and  sometimes  three.  Thus,  in  posting  Journal  entry  No. 
2,  Expense  is  debited  $200  and  Cash  credited  with  the  same  amount. 
Suppose  the  history  of  a  transaction  to  be  that  on  Jan.  21,  1901,  John 
Steady  proposes  to  pay  his  note  of  $157.50,  due  Feb.  8,  providing  the 
proprietor  will  allow  him  discount  (amounting  to  47  cents)  on  the 
amount  for  the  time  the  note  has  yet  to  run;  which  proposition  is 
accepted:  Cash  should  be  debited.  Bills  Receivable  $157.03;  Interest 
should  be  debited,  Bills  Receivable  $.47;  and  Bills  Receivable  should 
be  credited,  Sundries  $157.50.  Stmdries  here  means  two  debits,  thus 
saving  the  entry  of  one  credit  in  the  Bills  Receivable  Account. 

The  Ledger  entries  covering  the  Journal  entries  in  Diagram  No. 
4,  would,  therefore,  appear  as  in  Diagram  No.  5.  In  observing  Dia¬ 
grams  Nos.  4  and  5  reference  should  be  made  to  the  rules  for  debit 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


47 


and  credit,  so  that  the  student  may  see  which  one  is  applicable  in 
each  case. 

Diagram  No.  6.  —  Ledger  (Double  Entry) 


1  19^1 

1 

• 

Jour¬ 

nal 

Page 

Proprietor 

1901 

Jour¬ 

nal 

Page 

Cash 

Jan. 

I 

I 

|i,ooo 

Jan. 

I 

Proprietor 

I 

$1,000 

2 

Expense 

I 

200 

5 

Mdse. 

I 

30 

3 

Mdse. 

1 

500 

Expense 

2 

Cash 

I 

200 

Mdse. 

3 

Cash 

I 

500 

5 

Cash 

30 

4 

Chas.  Smith 

I 

20 

6 

J.T.White&Co. 

I 

3 

Chas.  Smith 

4 

Mdse. 

I 

20 

J.  T.  Anderson 

6 

Mdse. 

• 

I 

3 

Note.— Enter  only  two  accounts  on  each  page  of  the  Eedger,  one  occupying  the  upper  half  and 
one  occupying  the  lower  half. 


The  Cash  Book  does  not  differ  from  that  in  Single  Entry. 

The  Trial  Balance 

The  Trial  Balance  is  a  test  employed  to  determine  whether  the 
Ledger  is  in  balance,  or  whether  the  sum  of  all  the  debits  is  equal 
to  the  sum  of  all  the  credits.  Add  your  Ledger  accounts,  making 
the  totals  with  lead  pencil  so  that  they  rnay  be  erased  after  they  have 
served  their  purpose.  Transfer  to  your  Trial  Balance  book  from  the 
Ledger  the  names  and  footings  of  the  accounts  in  which  the  footing 
of  the  debit  column  is  not  equal  to  the  footing  of  the  credit  column, 
placing  the  debit  footings  in  the  left-hand  column  and  the  credit 
footings  in  the  right-hand  column.  Add  each  column,  and  if  their 
footings  are  the  same  your  Ledger  is  in  balance.  If  the  footings  do 
not  agree,  there  is  an  error  somewhere,  which  must  be  located.  To 
do  this  the  following  rules  will  be  found  effective :  — 

1.  Make  sure  that  the  columns  of  the  trial  balance  are  correctly 
added. 

# 

2.  Test  the  footings  of  the  accounts  in  the  Ledger. 

3.  Find  out  whether  the  footings  are  transferred  correctly  to  the 
balance  sheet. 

4.  Add  the  columns  of  the  Journal  to  see  if  the  Journal  is  in 
balance. 

5.  Examine  each  Journal  entry  by  itself,  and  also  the  posting  of 
it,  checking  both  the  Journal  and  the  Ledger  with  a  mark  (\). 


48 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


6.  Look  through  the  Ledger  for  unchecked  entries,  and  when  one 
is  found  search  for  the  cause  of  its  appearance. 

It  will  not,  perhaps,  be  necessary  to  resort  to  all  these  rules;  but 
until  the  error  is  located  the  foregoing  should  be  applied  in  the  order 
given. 

The  net  gain  or  net  loss  of  the  business  may  be  ascertained  by 
exactly  the  same  process  as  in  Single  Entry.  This  operation  may  be 
proved  by  making  a  statement  of  resources  and  liabilities  which  is 
also  done  as  in  Single  Entry. 

Changing  from  Single  Entry  to  Double  Entry. —  In  order  to 
change  from  Single  to  Double  Entry  it  is  necessary  to  open  an  account 
for  every  resource  and  liability,  except  those  connected  with  personal 
accounts,  these  being  already  represented.  The  balances  representing 
these  resources  and  liabilities  should  be  entered  on  the  proper  side  in 
these  new  accounts,  and  the  net  gain  or  net  loss  transferred  to  the 
proprietor’s  account,  after  which,  if  the  work  be  correct,  the  Ledger 
will  be  in  balance. 

It  is  customary  to  close  the  Ledger,  but  it  is  not  really  necessary 
to  do  so,  as  the  balances  can  all  be  found  without  closing  the  books. 
Of  course  they  must  be  closed,  if  a  new  set  of  books  is  to  be  used 
after  the  change. 

Petty  Cash  Book. —  In  this  book  are  entered  the  small  sums  of  cash 
received  or  paid  out.  At  the  close  of  each  day  it  is  balanced,  and 
the  amount  representing  the  difference  between  the  Dr.  and  the  Cr, 
sides  is  transferred  to  the  main  Cash  Book.  The  object  of  this  is  to 
save  space  in  the  main  book. 

Petty  Ledger. —  When  persons  are  not  likely  to  do  much  business 
on  credit,  it  will  be  found  convenient  to  open  accounts  with  them  in 
this  book.  Care  must  be  taken,  however,  not  to  open  two  accounts, 
one  in  the  Ledger  and  one  in  the  Petty  Ledger,  with  any  person,  as 
confusion  would  result.  The  indexing,  therefore,  should  be  promptly 
attended  to. 

Sundry  Debtors'  Accoimt. —  This  account  is  sometimes  kept  when 
transactions  are  had  with  persons  who  are  likely  to  purchase  but 
little.  The  object  of  it  is  to  save  space  in  the  Ledger.  If  such 
persons  buy  on  credit  oftener  than  once,  an  account  should  be 
opened  with  them  in  the  regular  way,  and  their  entry  in  the  Sundry 
Debtors’  Account  should  be  closed  into  the  new  account.  \ 

Transferring  Accounts  from  an  Old  Ledger  to  a  New  One 

When  a  Ledger  is  filled  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  transfer  the 
accounts  from  it  to  a  new  one,  the  following  course  should  be 
adopted : — 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


49 


1.  See  that  the  old  Ledger  is  in  balance. 

2.  Mark  the  old  one  Ledger  A and  the  new  one,  Ledger 

3.  Close  the  first  account  in'  Ledger  A  By  (or  To)  Balance  to 
Ledger  B,^^  making  the  entry  in  red  ink.  • 

4.  Open  a  new  account  in  Ledger  B,  having  the  same  heading 
as  the  one  just  closed,  and  make  the  entry  ^^To  (or  By)  Balance  from 
Ledger  A  in  black  ink. 

5.  Index  the  account  as  soon  as  opened,  and  indicate  in  each 
Ledger  the  page  of  the  other  on  which  it  appears. 

6.  Treat  all  the  accounts  in  a  similar  manner. 

Information  Necessary  for  Intelligent  Book-Keeping 

Bank  Checks. —  A  check  is  an  order  for  money,  drawn  by  one 
who  has  funds  in  the  bank,  payable  on  demand.  It  is  practically  the 
same  as  a  sight  draft.  Exercise  the  utmost  care  in  drawing  checks 
and  all  forms  of  commercial  paper.  A  carelessly  drawn  check  may 
be  raised^  that  is,  it  may  be  made  to  read  for  a  larger  amount  than 
that  for  which  it  was  originally  drawn,  by  a  dishonest  holder.  The 
bank  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  carelessness  of  this  character. 

Identification. —  It  is  the  rule  in  this  country  not  to  cash  a  check 
that  is  drawn  payable  to  order  unless  the  person  presenting  the 
check  is  known  at  the  bank.  It  should  be  remembered,  however, 
that  a  check  drawn  to  order  and  then  endorsed  in  blank  by  the 
payee,  is  really  payable  to  bearer,  and  all  that  is  necessary  in  order 
to  get  it  cashed  is  that  the  bank  be  satisfied  of  the  genuineness  of 
the  endorsement. 

When  checks  are  to  be  deposited,  the  words  For  Deposit  should 
be  written  above  the  endorsement.  When  so  endorsed,  the  bank  will 
refuse  to  cash  them,  which  operates  as  a  safeguard  in  case  they  are 
lost  or  stolen. 

In  drawing  money  from  the  business  account  for  use  in  the 
business,  the  check  should  be  written  Pay  to  the  order  of  Cash. 
This  differs  from  a  check  drawn  to  Bearer.  The  paying  teller  will 
not  then  cash  the  check  unless  presented  by  the  proprietor  or  some 
one  well  known  as  the  latter’s  representative.  If  the  check  is  drawn 
payable  to  the  proprietor  he  will  be  required  to  endorse  it  before  it 
will  be  cashed. 

If  you  wish  to  draw  a  check  to  pay  a  note,  write  Pay  to  the 
order  of  Bills  Payable  ;  if  for  money  for  wages,  write  Pay  to  the 
order  of  Pay  Roll  ;  if  to  pay  for  a  draft  which  you  are  buying, 
write  Pay  to  the  order  of  N.  Y.  Draft  and  Exchange^^ ;  or  whatever 
the  circurnstances  may  call  for. 

13—4 


50 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


If  it  is  desired  to  stop  the  payment  of  a  check  which  has  been 
issued,  notify  the  bank  at  once,  giving  a  full  description  of  the 
check. 

Checks  should  be  numbered  so  that  each  can  be  readily  accounted 
for.  It  is  important  that  the  check  book  be  correctly  kept,  so  that 
the  exact  amount  of  money  in  the  bank  may  be  ascertained  at  any 
time. 

Bank  Drafts. —  A  bank  draft  is  the  bank’s  check,  drawing  on  its 
deposit  with  some  other  bank.  Banks  sell  these  drafts  to  their  cuD'- 
tomers.  Merchants  make  frequent  use  of  them  in  making  remittances 
from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another.  They  pass  as  cash  any¬ 
where  within  a  reasonable  distance  from  the  money  center  upon 
which  they  are  drawn. 

A  draft  on  a  foreign  bank  is  usually  called  a  Bill  of  Exchange. 
They  are,  as  a  rule,  drawn  in  duplicate,  one  of  which  is  forwarded 
and  the  other  retained,  and  are  so  worded  that  when  the  original  is 
paid  the  duplicate  becomes  void. 

Promissory  Notes. —  A  promissory  note  is  a  written  promise  to  pay 
a  certain  sum  of  money.  At  the  time  of  making  the  note  there  are 
two  parties:  the  maker  and  the  payee.  The  maker  is  the  person  who 
signs  the  note,  and  the  payee  is  the  person  to  whom,  or  to  whose 
order,  the  note  is  made  payable.  Negotiable  means  transferable.^  and, 
therefore,  a  negotiable  note  is  one  that  can  be  transferred  from  one 
person  to  another.  To  be  negotiable,  a  note  must  contain  the  word 
order  or  the  word  bearer^  that  is,  it  must  be  made  payable  to  bearer 
or  to  the  order  of  the  payee.  A  non -negotiable  note  is  payable  to  a 
particular  person  only;  but  notes  of  this  character  are  not  frequently 
accepted  for  the  reason  that  they  possess  none  of  the  attributes  of 
currency,  differing  in  this  respect  from  negotiable  paper. 

The  date  of  a  note  is  a  very  important  item,  and  great  care  should 
be  exercised  in  writing  it.  A  note  made  on  Sunday  is  generally  con¬ 
sidered  void,  but  this  is  not  strictly  correct.  If  made  and  issued  on 
Sunday  it  is  void,  but  if  made  on  Sunday  and  issued  on  any  other 
day,  it  is  legal.  Issue  means  delivery. 

The  words  value  received  are  usually  inserted  in  a  note  but 
they  are  not  legally  necessary.  A  promise  to  pay  anything  but  money 
is  not  a  note ;  it  is  simply  a  form  of  contract. 

A  note  does  not  draw  interest  until  after  maturity  unless  the  words 
with  interest  appear  on  its  face.  After  maturity  it  draws  interest  at 
the  legal  rate  until  paid. 

An  endorser  of  a  note  is  any  person  who  writes  his  name  on  the 
back  of  it,  thereby  guaranteeing  its  payment.  Notes  are  usually  en¬ 
dorsed  in  blank,  which  leaves  the  receiver  free  to  endorse  it  or  not 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


51 


at  his  pleasure  if  he  wishes  to  transfer  it.  The  endorser  is  liable  for 
its  payment  if  the  maker  fails  to  meet  it.  If  the  endorser  desires  to 
escape  this  liability  he  should  write  above  his  signature  the  words 
without  recourse. 

A  note  should  be  presented  for  payment  on  the  exact  date  of  ma¬ 
turity  and  at  the  bank  or  place  where  it  is  made  payable.  In  finding 
the  date  of  maturity,  remember  that  when  a  note  is  drawn  payable 
so  many  days  after  date^  the  actual  number  of  days  must  be  counted; 
and  when  drawn  payable  so  ma7iy  months  after  date,  the  time  is  i;eck- 
oned  in  calendar  months. 

If  a  payment  is  made  on  a  note,  such  payment  should  be  endorsed 
on  the  back  of  the  note,  with  the  date.  It  is  unnecessary  to  affix 
any  signature  to  the  entry. 

Drafts. —  It  is  quite  a  common  practice  to  collect  debts  by  draft. 
When  the  messenger  from  a  bank  presents  a  sight  draft  he  is  not 
authorized  to  accept  a  check  in  payment,  but  the  person  upon  v/hom 
the  draft  is  drawn  may,  if  he  chooses,  write  across  the  face  of  the 
draft,  Accepted  June  — ,  190-,  payable  at  Second  National  Bank,^^ 
and  sign  his  name.  Such  a  draft  is  then  practically  converted  into  a 
check,  and  the  particulars  must  be  entered  in  the  check  book  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  an  actual  check  had  been  issued. 

Discounting. —  It  sometimes  happens  that  drafts  are  discounted  be¬ 
fore  they  are  accepted.  If  a  merchant  has  accounts  out  and  desires 
immediate  capital,  he  draws  on  his  customers  and  sells  his  drafts  to 
a  bank,  either  directly  or  through  a  broker. 

Notes  may  be  discounted  as  well  as  drafts.  The  rates  of  discount 
vary  according  to  the  paper  offered  and  the  state  of  the  money  mar¬ 
ket.  The  rates  usually  run  from  4  to  8  per  cent,  per  annum. 

Having  made  your  statement  of  liabilities  and  resources,  you 
should  now  make  your  Ledger  show  the  proprietor’s  real  present 
interest  in  the  business.  In  the  proprietor’s  account,  place  on  the 
credit  side,  in  black  ink,  the  net  gain.  If  there  has  been  a  loss  the 

amount  of  such  loss  should,  by  force  of  the  rules  for  debit  and 

credit,  be  shown  on  the  debit  side.  The  date  on  which  you  close  the 
account  should  be  shown  opposite  such  entries.  The  difference 
between  the  sides  of  your  account  will  now  show  the  proprietor’s 
present  worth,  as  shown  by  your  statement  of  resources  and  liabilities. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  account  you  will  now  write  in  red  ink  the 

date  of  closing  and  Present  Worth,  ^ - f  and  foot  up  both  sides 

of  the  account.  Under  these  footings  rule  two  lines  in  red  ink,  next 
transfer  the  amount  of  Present  Worth  to  the  credit  side  of  the 
account  in  black  ink,  dating  the  entry  the  day  after  that  on  which 
you  close  the  account,  as  that  amount  will  be  your  capital  at  the 


52 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


commencement  of  the  new  account.  Your  Ledger  will  then  show  the 
proprietor’s  interest  in  the  business. 

The  Ledger  should  now  be  closed  by  finding  the  difference 
between  the  two  sides  of  each  account  in  that  book.  Add  each 
difference  to  the  smaller  side  of  the  account,  showing  the  date  of 
closing. 

To  Balance,  foot  up  both  sides  of  the  account.  The  totals  will, 
of  course,  agree.  Make  the  entries,  rulings,  and  footings  in  red  ink. 

To  open  the  proprietor’s  new  account  in  the  Ledger,  bring  forward 
the  amount  of  Present  Worth  as  Investment.  The  date  of  this 
entry  will  be  the  day  on  which  the  new  account  is  commenced. 

To  open  the  other  accounts,  bring  forward  the  balance  in  black 
ink,  entering  them  as  Balance  under  the  date  of  the  new  account 
on  the  proper  side  of  the  page. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  close  the  Ledger  account.  Make  the 
Ledger  account  as  indicated  by  Diagram  No.  3,  show  the  proprietor’s 
present  worth  and  close  the  Ledger  accounts  preparatory  to  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  a  new  set  of  accounts. 

Suppose  it  to  have  been  ascertained  that  the  present  worth  is  $1,050  00, 
and  the  net  gain  $50.00.  The  closed  Ledger  should  appear  as  in 
Diagram  No.  4:  — 

Diagram  No.  4  — Closed  Dedger 


1901 

'  PROPRIETOR 

1901 

Jan. 

12 

Present  Worth 

$1050 

Jan. 

I 

Investment 

1 

$1000 

,  1050 

Jan. 

12 

Net  Gain 

50 

1050 

John  Smallwood 

Jan. 

13 

Present  Worth 

1050 

Jan. 

12 

By  Balance 

250 

2 

Mdse. 

I 

250 

Henry  J.  Miller 

Jan. 

3 

Mdse. 

I 

60 

8 

Bal.  of  Acct. 

I 

60 

S.  M.  Smith 

Jan. 

12 

By  Balance 

28 

4 

Mdse. 

I 

28 

To  close  the  Double  Entry  Ledger,  first,  enter  the  amount  of  the 
inventory  on  the  credit  side  of  the  merchandise  account  as  Inven¬ 
tory,^^  showing  the  date  of  closing  in  red  ink.  Next,  find  the  differ¬ 
ence  between  the  two  sides  of  the  account,  entering  the  amount  of 
each  difference  also  in  red  ink,  on  the  smaller  side  of  the  account  as 
”  Loss  or  Gain.^^ 

If  the  total  of  the  credit  side  be  larger  than  the  debit  side,  the 
difference  will  obviously  be  a  gain.  If  the  total  of  the  debit  side 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


53 


exceeds  that  of  the  credit  side,  the  difference  will  be  a  loss.  Now 
foot  up  both  sides  of  the  account,  making  the  rulings  and  figures  in 
red  ink. 

Second,  open  an  account  with  Loss  and  Gain  one-fourth  of  a 
page  below  the  Interest  account.  Transfer  to  the  Loss  and  Gain 
account  in  black  ink  the  amount  of  loss  or  gain,  as  shown  in  the  Mer¬ 
chandise  account  with  date  of  closing,  placing  the  amount  on  the 
proper  side  of  the  account,  i.  to  the  debit  side  if  a  loss;  to  the 
credit  side  if  a  gain. 

Third,  refer  to  the  Interest  account  and  ascertain  whether  it  shows 
loss  or  gain,  and  how  much,  by  comparing  the  totals  of  the  two 
sides  of  the  account.  Balance  the  account  by  entering  on  the  smaller 
side  in  red  ink  this  difference,  showing  it  ^^Loss^^  or  ^^Gain,^^  as  the 
case  may  be.  Now  transfer  in  red  ink  the  loss  or  gain,  as  shown  by 
the  interest  account,  to  the  proper  side  of  the  Loss  and  Gain  account, 
showing  it  as  Interest. 

The  Loss  and  Gain  account  now  contains  all  of  the  items  of  gain 
and  loss,  and  it  may  now  be  closed.  To  do  this,  compare  the  totals 
of  both  sides  of  it,  and  placing  the  difference  on  the  smaller  side  in 
red  ink,  as  Proprietor.  If  the  debit  side  exceeds  that  of  the  credit, 
the  difference  is  loss;  if  the  credit  exceeds  the  debit  side,  the  dif¬ 
ference  is  gain.  Now  rule  and  foot  up  the  account  in  red  ink. 

Fourth,  transfer  the  amount  shown  by  the  Loss  and  Gain  account 
as  Proprietor  in  black  ink  to  the  proprietor’s  account,  debit  if  loss, 
credit  if  gain. 

Fifth,  close  the  proprietor’s  account.  To  do  this,  enter  in  red  ink 
the  amount  of  Present  Worth,  excess  of  resources  over  liabilities 
and  the  amount  of  the  loss  or  gain  in  his  account,  and  bring  down 
the  totals  of  both  sides  in  red  ink.  Enter  in  black  ink  the 
amount  of  Present  Worth  below  the  red  ink  footings  on  the  credit 
side,  showing  the  date  as  that  on  which  you  are  to  start  the  new 
account. 

Sixth,  close  the  other  accounts  in  the  Ledger  the  same  as  in 
single  entries.  This  completes  the  closing  of  the  Ledger. 

Supposing  the  present  worth  to  be  $2,012.50,  net  gain  $1,812.50, 
inventory  $1,499.50,  interest,  loss  $50.00.  'The  closed  Ledger  page 
should  appear  in  Diagram  No.  7. 

To  open  the  new  Ledger,  bring  forward  in  black  ink  the  entries 
in  all  of  the  accounts  in  the  old  Ledger,  except  the  Loss  and  Gain 
account.  Date  the  entries  in  the  new  Ledger  the  day  on  which  the 
new  account  is  opened. 

To  ascertain  the  amount  of  discount  on  a  time  draft,  first  find  its 
present  worth.  To  do  this,  it  is  only  necessary  to  divide  the  face 


54 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


value  of  the  draft  by  the  amount  of  $i  at  the  given  rate  and  time. 
The  difference  between  the  present  worth  and  the  face  of  the  draft 
will  be  the  discount. 

Thus,  if  a  draft  for  $750.00,  due  in  4  months,  is  discounted  at  the 
rate  of  6%,  the  amount  of  the  discount  will  be;  $750.00  divided  by 
$1.02  ($1.00  and  interest  at  6%  for  4  mos.)  =$735. 29  (present  worth). 
$750.00  —  $735. 29  =$14. 71  or  the  amount  of  discount. 

This  is  called  true  discount,  but  the  custom  among  business  men 
is  to  use  what  is  called  Business  discount,  that  is,  simply  the  interest 
on  the  face  of  the  draft  taken  in  advance.  Thus,  if  a  draft  for  $106.  oc, 
due  in  one  year,  is  discounted  when  money  is  worth  6%  per 
annum,  the  discount  will  be  6%  of  $106.00  =  $6. 36,  which  deducted  from 
the  face  of  the  draft  leaves  $99.64,  the  present  worth  or  the  amount 
for  which  the  draft  is  to  be  sold.  This  principle  also  applies  to  non¬ 
interest  bearing  promissory  notes. 

If  an  interest  bearing  promissory  note  is  discounted,  the  present 
holder  is  simply  paid  the  face  value  and  the  interest  to  and  including 
the  day  of  discount. 

Diagram  No.  7  —  Closed  Dedger 


I9CI 

Proprietor 

1901 

Jan. 

31 

Present  Worth 

$2012.50 

Jan. 

I 

31 

Net  Gain 

I 

$1000 

1012.50 

2012.50 

20T3.50 

Feb. 

I 

Present  Worth 

2012.50 

2 

Cash 

I 

Expense 

200 

Jan. 

31 

Inventory 

200 

Jan. 

3 

■  4 

31 

Cash 

CJias.  Smith 
Gain 

I 

I 

Mdse. 

500 

20 

1012.50 

Jan. 

5 

6 
31 

Cash 

J.  T.  White  &  Co. 
Inventory 

I 

30 

3 

1499.50 

1532-50 

Interest 

1532.50 

Jan. 

21 

Bills  Receivable 

I 

•50 

Jan. 

31 

Eoss 

•50 

Eoss  and  Gain 

Jan. 

Jan. 

31 

31 

Interest 

Proprietor 

.50 

1012 

Jan. 

31 

Mdse. 

1012.50 

1012.50 

Bottomry  Bond. — mortgage  given  on  the  hull  of  a  vessel  to 
secure  payment  of  money  raised  in  a  foreign  country  in  times  of 
emergency. 

Broker. —  An  agent  or  factor  employed  on  commission  or  fee  to 
buy  or  sell  commodities.  ; 

Brokerage. —  Commission  charged  by  a  broker. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


55 


Building  and  Loan  Associations.  —  First  devised  and  organized  in 
England,  early  in  the  19th  cent'iry.  Their  purpose  is  to  enable  per¬ 
sons  of  small  means  to  secure  homes,  and  at  stated  intervals  to  put 
aside  fixed  sums  to  make  the  investment  safe  and  profitable.  For¬ 
merly  the  home-building  or  home-buying  fund  was  derived  wholly  from 
the  periodical  payments  of  members  (shareholders).  Now  prepaid, 
full  paid,  and  permanent  shares  are  sold  by  the  associations,  payable 
in  full  in  advance  or  by  installments  as  the  subscribers  may  elect. 
Special  deposits  in  any  amount  may  be  made,  and  shares  partly  paid 
are  raised  to  their  par  value  by  adding  to  payments  made,  the  divi¬ 
dends  apportioned  to  such  payments.  Special  deposits  may  usually 
be  withdrawn  by  the  depositor  at  will,  but  installment  and  prepaid 
shares  must  remain  in  until  they  reach  par  value.  Full  paid  shares 
must  remain  in  a  certain  time  and  permanent  shares  until  the  corpo¬ 
ration  dissolves.  The  first  association  in  the  U.  S.  was  the  Oxford 
Provident  Building  Association,  founded  at  Frankford,  Pa.,  in  1831. 
Now  this  country  has  more  than  6,000  such  organizations,  with  assets 
exceeding  $650,000,000. 

Bull. —  A  term  applied  in  the  stock  market  to  one  who  buys  with 
the  expectation  of  an  advance  in  prices. 

Bullion. —  Gold  and  silver  uncoined. 

Bursar. — Treasurer  or  cashier  of  a  college  or  other  institution. 


56 


TRAINING  YOUNG  MEN  FOR  BUSINESS 

By  C.  C.  GAINES 
President  of  the  Eastman  Business  College 

IN  THESE  early  years  of  the  twentieth  century,  the  para¬ 
mount  interest  is  business.  The  enormous  aggrega¬ 
tions  of  capital  engaged  in  trade  and  commerce,  in 
manufacturing  and  transportation,  have  given  a  new 
meaning  to  the  word  The  business  men  of  the  day  are 
the  rulers  of  the  world.  The  men  whose  names  are  on 
all  tongues,  and  in  whose  deeds  all  continents  are  con¬ 
cerned,  are  the  men  of  millions.  To  the  average  young 
man,  the  names  most  familiar  are  those  of  John  D.  Rocke¬ 
feller,  Andrew  Carnegie,  John  Wanamaker,  Marshall 
Field,  and  others,  once  poor  boys,  but  now  prominent 
through  great  achievements  in  business. 

Are  leaders  like  these  produced  by  training  ?  If  so, 
what  is  the  process  ?  Is  it  possible  to  discover,  the  formula,  to  enunciate 
the  set  of  rules,  by  which  genius  in  business  is  developed  ?  I  fear  not. 
Preeminent  men  are  blessed  with  exceptional  gifts.  They  arise  out  of 
that  mysterious  combination  of  innate  faculty,  force,  and  opportunity 
which  are  always  coefficient  in  the  making  of  a  great  man. 

But  the  problem  before  us  does  not  concern  genius.  It  is  what  to  do 
for  the  average  American  boy, —  the  boy  who  in  the  near  future  will 
begin  life ;  whose  economic  activity  will  be  business,  and  who  would 
seek  through  training  to  become  an  able  man  of  affairs.  I  want  what  I 
may  say  to  help  this  boy  to  become  a  better  man ;  to  enable  him  to  render 
better  service,  and  to  inspire  him  to  a  higher  view  of  the  vocation  to 
which  he  is  called.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  his  character,  his  habits, 
his  qualifications,  and  his  opportunity.  The  most  important  part  of 
training  is  man-building,  the  greatest  work  in  the  world.  The  bed-rock 
on  which  to  build  the  business  man  is  character. 

What  is  character?  It  is  the  work  of  many  unseen  influences; 
heredity  is  its  seed,  environment  its  soil,  and  will  force  its  secret. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  57 

% 

Character  grows.  It  does  not  spring,  like  Minerva,  full-panoplied;  no, 
not  even  in  those  who  are  born  again ;  but  day  by  day,  here  a  little, 
there  a  little,  grows  and  strengthens  for  good  or  bad.  Good  intentions 
and  good  principles  may  both  be  unheeded,  and  go  to  atrophy  and  decay ; 
or  they  may  grow  into  that  superb  discretion  which  gives  masterly  control 
of  all  wrong  impulses,  that  splendid  moral  potency  which  neither  temp¬ 
tation  can  weaken,  nor  disaster  destroy. 

Disraeli  remarks :  The  youth  who  does  not  look  up  will  look 
down,  and  the  spirit  which  does  not  soar  is  destined  to  grovel.  The 
future  holds  blessings  for  the  young  man  who  goes  into  business  with  the 
ambition  to  deserve  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  wise  and  good;  who 
appreciates  the  value  of  loyalty,  purity,  honesty,  and  truth  —  the  un¬ 
stained  shield.  But  the  boy  who  believes  that  success  depends  on  sharp¬ 
ness  and  chicanery;  that  the  ability  to  get  the  best  of  the  bargain,  no 
matter  by  what  deception  and  meanness,  is  business  —  is  sure,  sooner  or 
later,  to  discover  that  he  is  the  victim  of  his  own  treachery.  All  expe¬ 
rience  goes  to  show  that  no  enduring  success  in  business  can  be  achieved 
through  dishonesty ;  and  that  no  matter  what  the  talents  and  energies, 
no  matter  how  liberal,  polished,  and  profound  the  education, —  these  are 
of  little  value  unless  accompanied  by  personal  integrity. 

May  character  be  inculcated?  Not  in  perfection,  perhaps;  yet,  with 
proper  training,  everything  is  in  favor  of  giving  the  average  young  man 
good  character.  But  his  heart  must  be  educated  not  less  than  his  head. 
If  as  much  attention  is  not  given  to  his  conscience  as  to  his  mind,  the 
knowledge  we  may  give  him,  no  matter  what  the  branches  of  study,  will 
be  just  as  apt  to  polish  a  cunning  scoundrel  as  to  perfect  a  Christian 
gentleman. 

To  this  end  we  want  better  schools,  rather  than  more  schools,  and 
higher  instruction,  rather  than  the  higher  education.  Above  all,  we 
want  better  training,  more  knowledge  of  the  moral  law,  more  restraint 
by  and  obedience  to  parents,  more  self-control,  more  thorough  discipline, 
early  begun,  and  never  relaxed,  on  the  great  doctrine  of  will-force  as  the 
secret  of  character.  God  gives  the  opportunity;  man's  free-will  makes 
the  choice.  It  was  Solomon  who  prayed:  ^^Give,  therefore,  thy  servant 
an  understanding  heart,  that  I  may  discern  between  good  and  bad.^^ 
Every  day  of  his  life,  again  and  again,  man  must  decide  between  true 
good  and  what  is  ®only  evil  continually.^^  This  conflict  he  must  face  in 
every  environment, —  domestic,  social,  political,  business.  With  persist¬ 
ency  of  purpose,  with  patient  and  skilful  labor,  he  must  pluck  out  the 
weeds,  and  plant  good  seed,  or  nettles  and  thistles  will  take  root  and 
grow,  to  bring  thorns  for  his  feet  and  stings  for  his  hands. 

It  is  for  you  to  determine  what  your  habits  shall  be ;  whether  you 
shall  rise  when  the  time  comes  for  leaving  your  bed;  whether  you  shall 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


58 

be  promptly  in  place  at  meals;  whether  you  shall  eat  only  wholesome 
food;  whether  you  shall  study,  or  hate  your  books;  whether  you  shall 
get  an  education,  and  be  known  as  a  cultured  gentleman ;  whether  you 
shall  be  polite  and  appreciative  or  the  opposite ;  whether  you  shall  work 
with  energy  and  enthusiasm,  ^^with  a  will,^^  or  be  lazy;  whether  you 
shall  read  the  best  books,  or  those  which  corrupt  good  taste ;  whether 
you  shall  select  good  companions  and  elevating  associations,  or  those 
which  are  degrading ;  whether  you  shall  speak  kindly,  truly,  distinctly, 
correctly, —  or  roughly,  profanely,  and  with  foul  words;  whether  you 
shall  spend  your  leisure  in  exercise,  reading,  wholesome  amusement, 
and  recreation,  or  in  loafing  around  the  street  corners  and  saloons,  in 
card  playing  and  telling  filthy  stories;  whether  you  shall  pay  cash,  or 
run  in  debt;  whether  you  shall  keep  good  hours,  and  preserve  your 
physical  health  and  vigor,  or  waste  your  energies  in  late  hours  and 
dissipation;  whether  you  shall  meet  temptation,  and  master  it;  whether 
you  shall  smoke  a  cigarette,  or  never  touch  tobacco ;  whether  you  shall 
shun  intemperance,  as  you  would  a  contagious  disease,  or  take  the  first 
drink ;  whether  you  shall  purify  your  thoughts,  or  have  a  mind  full  of 
evil  imaginings,  unclean  sights,  and  lascivious  pictures;  whether  you 
shall  ‘be  brave  enough  to  set  a  good  example,  and  to  refuse  to  follow  a 
bad  example ;  whether  you  shall  support  the  right,  and  be  an  aggressive 
force  for  good,  or  throw  away  your  manhood  and  make  your  life  worse 
than  a  failure.  You  maybe  what  you  will;  what  is  good,  or  what  is 
bad.  But  be  careful.  Your  reputation;  your  position  socially,  your 
standing  and  success  as  a  business  man,  your  health  of  mind  and  body, 
your  happiness,  your  character,  your  destiny — will  all  be  determined 
finally  and  forever  by  the  habits  you  are  now  forming,  of  thought,  of 
speech,  of  action. 

If  I  were  a  boy,^^  says  Bishop  Vincent,  I  should  want  father  and 
mother,  older  brother  and  sister,  pastor  and  teacher,  neighbor  and  best 
friend,  books  and  periodicals,  to  say  and  resay,  and  to  say  it  over  again, 
as  birds  sing  their  songs,  and  as  waves  roll  on  the  worn  beach:  ^  You 
are  not  a  thing, —  a  stick,  a  stone,  a  lump  of  clay  or  putty,  —  but  a  person, 
—  a  power,  a  creator;  not  so  much  an  effect  as  a  cause;  not  to  be  led  by  a 
whim,  but  to  be  ruled  by  a  will.^  Classes  for  spelling  and  word  learning, 
for  reading  and  writing,  for  handling  figures  and  drawing  geometrical 
lines,  are  good,  but  the  best  class  to  be  earliest  organized  and  longest 
sustained,  the  class  in  which  a  two-year-old  should  be  an  advanced 
pupil,  the  class  that  never  graduates,  —  is  the  class  in  which  a  boy  is 
trained  to  say:  ^  I  ought,  I  can,  I  will;  and  what  I  am,  in  the  long  run, 
in  the  final  outcome,  I  am  to  make  myself.  ^ 

The  primary  training  prescribed  for  all  young  people  should  never 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  it  is  impossible,  whatever  the  individual  func- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


59 


tion  in  life,  for  them  to  escape  business  relations.  Man  living  In  a  state 
of  society  is,  by  nature,  a  commercial  being,  a  creature  of  exchanges. 
He  cannot  get  without  giving.  His  duty  is  not  to  himself  alone,  but  to 
neighbors,  to  country,  to  God.  He  should  be  able,  not  only  to  under* 
stand,  but  to  discharge  acceptably,  the  duties  arising  out  of  these  several 
relations;  and  for  his  own  comfort,  if  from  no  higher  motive,  he  should 
be  given  such  a  course  of  instruction  and  practice  as  will  fit  him  for 
the  proper  conduct  of  his  own  affairs. 

I  conceive  that  the  training  of  all  children,  to  a  certain  point,  should 
be  uniform.  I  would  measure  that  training  by  this  standard;  what  is  it 
the  boy  most  needs  to  be  and  to  know,  in  order  that  he  may  act  with  dis¬ 
cretion  and  wisdom  in  meeting  his  various  responsibilities  as  a  man  ? 
The  first  essential  of  education  is  to  know  something;  the  second,  to 
know  the  most  of  that  which  one  most  needs  to  know. 

How  to  work  is  the  thing  the  boy  most  needs  to  know  who  has  his 
way  to  make  in  the  business  world.  Labor  omnia  vincit,^^  and  no  busi¬ 
ness  man  may  expect  to  conquer  without  it.  In  my  twenty  years’  ex¬ 
perience  as  principal  of  a  business  school,  I  have  found  only  those 
young  men  impossible  —  I  may  even  say  hopeless  —  who  could  not  be 
induced  to  work.  The  business  men  who  succeed  do  so  by  unceasing 
application.  Ask  any  man  the  secret,  no  matter  in  what  activity,  and 
he  will  answer:  It  is  toil,  grit,  endurance;  not  simply  ambition,  but 
sustained  ambition;  not  only  aspiration,  but  perspiration.®  When¬ 
ever  I  hear  a  young  man  praised  as  giving  unusual  promise,  as  a  man  of 
genius,®  says  Ruskin,  I  always  ask  just  one  question.  Does  he  work  ?® 
Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  once  told  me  that  his  father  was  so  bent  on 
teaching  his  children  to  employ  their  leisure  profitably,  that  he  made  it 
a  rule  to  arrange  every  day  some  useful  work  to  occupy  part  of  their 
time. 

Of  hardly  less  significance  is  concentration,  or  patient  industry — the 
power  of  drudging,  hour  after  hour,  and  day  after  day,  until  the  work 
in  hand,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  done.  Be  it  sweeping  the  store,  or  ex¬ 
tending  and  adding  columns  of  figures,  or  planning  the  season’s  pur¬ 
chases,  or  writing  advertisements,  or  selling  goods, — handwork  or 
head  work, — the  business  man  must  be  so  trained  that  he  is  able  and 
willing  to  do  it,  if  need  be.  The  successful  man  not  only  thinks;  he 
acts.  He  does  things.  His  secret  is  in  his  plans,  it  is  true;  but  it  is 
hardly  less  in  the  promptness  and]efficiency  with  which  he  executes  them. 

Ability,  or  the  power  of  doing  well  the  thing  to  be  done,  comes  next. 
The  successful  manager  must  take  pride  in  his  work,  and  be  clearly  mas¬ 
ter  of  every  detail,  small  and  great.  The  most  satisfactory  means  of 
acquiring  this  mastery  is  by  actual  experience.  To  this  end,  the  mer¬ 
chant  should  have  early  contact  with  the  business  he  is  to  follow;  the 


6o 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


younger  he  begins  to  trade,  the  more  likely  he  is  to  love  it.  No  man 
may  expect  to  prosper  who  does  not  have  a  taste  for  his  business,  a  gen¬ 
uine  appetite  for  its  most  commonplace  transactions.  If  these  seem  to 
him  arduous,  unpleasant  or  trifling,  he  had  better  devote  his  energies  to 
some  other  vocation.  One  cannot  succeed  eminently  in  what  one  de¬ 
spises.  The  late  A.  T.  Stewart  never  lost  his  eagerness  for  his  business, 
and  is  said  to  have  taken  as  much  pains,  and  as  evident  pleasure,  in  wait¬ 
ing  on  a  customer  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  as  when  he  began 
business.  It  should  be  added  that  his  customers  were  never  better 
pleased  than  when  he  served  them,  whether  they  knew  who  he  was  or  not. 

I  have  thus  far  said  little  of  what  training  should  be  given  at  school. 
The  business  man  should  have  the  best  education  the  time  and  means  at 
his  disposal  make  possible,  but  should  never  be  permitted  to  lose  sight 
of  the  calling  to  which  he  is  to  be  devoted.  The  contact-experience, 
suggested  above,  should  not  be  permitted  to  take  the  boy  from  school, 
but  should  be  given  on  Saturdays  and  during  vacations,  in  the  time  not 
required  for  study. 

The  merchant  of  fifty  years  ago  believed  that  business  could  not  be 
learned  by  educational  processes.  So  the  school  which  proposed  to  teach 
business  was  looked  upon  with  suspicion.  It  advertised  to  do  the  im¬ 
possible.  The  tricks  of  trade  had  to  be  taught  in  the  shop  or  in  the 
counting-room,  under  a  system  of  apprenticeship.  The  merchant  re¬ 
ceived  the  boy  into  his  family,  and  made  him  the  trusted  companion  of 
his  life  and  labors.  It  was  the  same  in  that  day  in  all  trades.  But  con¬ 
ditions  are  changed.  The  volume  of  business  now  transacted,  and  the 
methods  in  vogue  in  offices,  stores,  and  factories  make  it  impossible  for 
the  business  man  of  to-day  to  afford  time  for  the  general  training  of  his 
clerks  and  assistants.  The  shop  is  the  place  where  training  must  be  used 
rather  than  sought.  Thus,  in  many  occupations,  it  has  become  necessary 
to  substitute  practical  training  in  the  schools  for  the  teaching  formerly 
given  through  experience. 

Until  very  recently  our  general  scheme  of  education  in  America,  ex¬ 
cept  in  proprietary  business  schools,  made  no  provision  for  specialization 
in  this  direction.  The  same  condition  prevailed  in  England.  On  the 
Continent,  especially  in  Germany,  Austria,  and  France,  public  attention 
has  for  many  years  been  wisely  drawn  to  the  importance  of  commercial 
education,  and  courses  of  instruction,  admirably  systematized,  have  been 
arranged  for  their  higher  schools.  In  the  present  keen  struggle  for 
trade,  place,  and  position,  the  work  done  by  these  schools  has  so  clearly 
demonstrated  its  advantages  to  the  commerce  of  the  country,  and  to 
the  students  themselves,  that  educators,  both  in  England  and  America, 
have  been  induced  to  provide  adequate  systems  of  training  for  pupils  of 
all  ages ;  for  those  who  would  begin  as  office  boys  and  clerks  at  from 


BUSINESS  ANt)  COMMERCE 


6i 

fourteen  to  sixteen,  and  for  college  and  university  men  of  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five,  who  wish  to  be  prepared  for  higher  functions  than  merely 
clerical  service  or  trading  behind  the  counter  generally  entails. 

In  this  great  work  the  American  business  college  has  been  the  pio¬ 
neer.  The  training  given  in  these  schools  has,  indeed,  been  narrow,  but 
it  has  also  been  thorough  and  practical.  With  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the 
youth  of  this  country,  girls  and  boys,  the  question  is  not  so  much  how 
to  live,  as  how  to  make  an  honest  living.  The  commercial  schools  solve 
this  problem  by  affording  the  shortest  road  to  business  employments. 

A  few  of  the  schools  give  excellent  courses  of  public  lectures  by 
men  of  note,  a  sort  of  chair  of  entertainment  and  inspiration.  The  aim 
is  to  give  the  qualifications  sought  by  business  men  in  an  assistant  prop¬ 
erly  equipped.  These  are  really  accomplishments,  and  not  scholarly 
attainments,  and,  for  this  reason,  I  fear,  they  have  received  too  little  at¬ 
tention  at  the  hands  of  educators  who  rather  despise  what  they  conceive 
to  be  utilitarian. 

But  the  present  generation  is  persuaded  that  ability  is  of  not  less  im¬ 
portance  than  erudition.  ‘Gradually,  the  world  is  learning  the  necessity 
for  skilled,  trained  work  in  everything  from  the  lowest  to  the  most  intel¬ 
lectual  vocations.  The  business  school  owes  its  existence  to  this  fact, 
and  will  continue  to  occupy  itself  largely,  if  not  exclusively,  with  utili¬ 
tarian  purposes.  It  believes  in  holding  definitely  to  its  training,  and  in 
drilling  incessantly  toward  the  realization  of  practical  results.  Its  work 
is  not  as  well  done  by  any  other  type  of  school,  high  or  low.  That  the 
accomplishments  it  imparts  are  of  prime  necessity  to  good  clerical  effi¬ 
ciency  the  business  men  themselves  bear  witness.  Mr.  Robert  Ogden, 
manager  of  Wanamaker’s  New  York  store,  said  in  a  recent  address  to 
teachers  that  through  errors  from  bad  writing,  alone,  their  business  was 
losing  more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

In  appreciation  of  the  value  of  this  work,  the  University  of  New 
York,  through  its  Board  of  Regents,  extended  recognition  to  the  more 
worthy  proprietary  business  schools  of  this  state  about  five  years  ago, 
by  offering  to  register  such  as  were  found  on  inspection  to  maintain  sat¬ 
isfactory  standards,  and  to  have  facilities  for  preparing  students  to  take 
examinations  for  state  certificates  and  diplomas.  The  movement  has 
.  not  accomplished  all  that  was  hoped  for  it,  except  in  the  direction  of 
awakening  interest.  It  will  finally  result  in  elevating  the  standards  of 
the  commercial  schools  all  over  the  United  States,  and  in  establishing  in 
other  schools  professional  training  for  our  great  captains  of  commerce. 
Already,  Commercial  High  Schools  are  being  organized  in  all  our  chief 
cities;  and  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York  has  established  a 
School  of  Commerce,  Accounts,  and  Finance,  in  which  to  give  more 
extensive  advantages  to  public  accountants  and  business  men  generally. 


62 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Similar  schools  have  also  been  opened  in  the  Universities  of  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  Chicago,  Wisconsin,  and  California,  and  one  is  being  organized  by 
Columbia.  The  rapid  development  of  business  life  among  us,  and  the 
wide  diffusion  of\  wealth,  require  that  our  colleges  and  universities  shall 
afford  the  best  education  for  the  young  business  man  of  the  future,  by 
whom  is  to  be  administered  the  largest  trusts  and  responsibilities  in 
which  private  capital  has  ever  been  employed. 

The  opportunity  is  to  the  young  man  who  will  qualify  himself.  Said 
Hamilton  W.  Mabie  in  an  address  to  my  students:  — 

This  is  the  age  of  the  trained  man  and  the  trained  woman.  That  is 
the  thing  I  want  to  write  on  your  hearts.  There  was  a  time  in  this  eoun- 
try  when  opportunities  were  so  great,  and  there  was  so  mueh  to  be  done, 
that  any  man  or  any  woman  who  had  a^  good  heart  and  a  good  character, 
and  a  strong  arm,  might  achieve  a  certain  degree  of  success.  I  am  not 
saying  that  that  time  is  entirely  passed.  I  hope  it  will  be  long  before  it 
is  entirely  passed.  But  this  I  am  saying  to  you,  that  if  I  were  a  young 
man  or  a  young  woman  going  out  into  the  world  to-day,  I  should  not  dare 
to  go,  unless  I  had  given  myself  every  possible  educational  opportunity; 
unless  I  had  made  myself  absolutely  master  of  the  thing  I  wanted  to  do. 
I  tell  you  to-day  that  the  tragedy  of  modern  life  is  the  tragedy  of  the 
half-educated  man  or  woman;  it  is  the  tragedy  of  the  man  or  woman  who 
wants  to  do  something  and  cannot  do  anything  well.^^ 

Our  trade,  both  domestic  and  international,  is  growing  more  complex. 
Its  transactions  are  larger,  but  keener  competition  reduces  the  percent¬ 
age  of  profits,  and  makes  it  necessary  for  the  successful  merchant  to 
know  more  than  he  ever  knew,  if  he  would  not  be  at  a  disadvantage  in 
the  general  struggle.  The  nation  whose  resources  in  agriculture,  in 
mining,  in  manufactures,  in  commerce,  enable  it  to  feed  and  clothe  the 
world,  needs  merchants  of  the  highest  intelligence,  financiers  of  wisdom, 
alert,  inventive,  and  enterprising  organizers. 

Recognizing  this  as  their  opportunity,  all  the  universities  of  the 
country  will,  in  the  near  future,  provide  for  the  higher  scientific  training 
of  our  merchants  and  business  men.  Such  training  alone  will  qualify 
young  business  men  to  work  with  the  foresight  and  certainty  which  are 
rendered  necessary  by  our  social  and  commercial  relations.  Already 
these  schools,  in  their  technological  departments,  are  training  men  of 
science  for  our  laboratories,  mines,  electrical  and  railway  plants.  What 
they  have  done  in  this  field  accounts,  in  a  large  measure,  for  the  tremen¬ 
dous  advances  we  have  made  during  the  last  fifty  years  in  all  things 
material.  They  may,  with  equal  promise,  undertake  to  train  the  sons  of 
our  famous  business  men  of  to-day  to  be  worthy  successors  of  their 
sires ;  to  give  to  our  business  interests  leaders  fitted  both  to  live  and  to 
make  a  living. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


63 


Nor  will  the  course  of  study  they  give  be  open  to  the  charge  super¬ 
ficial  and  narrow.  It  will  include  every  branch  of  knowledge  that^ 
bears  in  any  way  on  the  practical  side  of  a  business  life,  or  that  leads 
to  larger  comprehension  of  his  duty  as  a  citizen  of  this  great  country. 
Our  future  merchant  will  be  taught,  not  only  arithmetic,  bookkeeping, 
correspondence,  and  other  things  that  make  him  efficient  for  clerical 
service,  but  the  sciences,  natural  and  philosophical;  the  economics, 
political  and  social ;  the  principles  of  government  and  institutes  of  law, 
commercial,  statute,  constitutional,  and  international;  besides  English, 
the  modern  foreign  languages,  as  German,  French,  and  Spanish, — all, 
but  especially  the  last,  of  growing  importance  in  the  United  States.  He 
will  also  be  taught  how  to  establish  and  conduct  a  business;  the  uses  of 
credit ;  the  rules  of  commercial  and  industrial  action  and  administration ; 
the  art  of  public  address ;  the  methods  of  financing  and  organizing  cor¬ 
porations  ;  the  means  of  transportation  and  communication  by  land  and 
water;  as  to  industrial  combinations  of  capital,  labor  unions,  etc.;  the 
duties  of  employers  and  employees;  about  raw  materials,  commercial 
products,  general  cost  and  selling  price,  markets,  tariffs,  and  every  other 
matter  which  goes  to  fully  equip  the  future  leader  in  the  field  in  which 
he  is  to  be  active. 

There  is  a  fine  future  before  the  young  business  man,  if  he  will  only 
fit  himself  to  occupy  his  place.  Already  the  United  States  Senate  is 
referred  to  as  the  millionaires’  club.  A  recent  English  Cabinet  contained 
directors  in  not  less  than  sixty-four  companies.  The  business  man  is 
the  power  behind  the  throne.  He  controls  the  sinews  of  war,  and  the  des¬ 
tinies  of  empires  are  in  his  hands.  He  is  the  modern  Joseph  to  the  Pha¬ 
raohs  of  the  twentieth  century.  He  is  the  king-maker,  if  not  the  king. 


ARE  THE  CHANCES  FOR  YOUNG  MEN  LESS 

TO-DAY? 

OPINIONS  OF  CHARLES  R.  FLINT,  RUSSELL  SAGE,  GEN  FRANCIS 
V.  GREENE,  JAMES  B.  DILL,  AND  OTHERS 

CONTEMPORARY  history  is  filled  with  inspiring  stories  of  fortunes  won 
and  fame  achieved  by  men  who  began  life  poor.  Most  of  these 
men  belong  to  a  generation  that  is  passing  away.  In  the  com¬ 
mercial  and  industrial  realm,  conditions  have  greatly  changed  since  they 
struggled  against  poverty  and  hardship.  Great  corporations  known  as 


64 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


trusts,  and  representing  vast  aggregations  of  capital,  have  come  into 
existence  and  already  exercise  a  dominating  influence  in  many  depart¬ 
ments  of  trade  and  manufacture.  There  is  every  indication  that  com¬ 
binations  of  this  sort  will  increase.  The  trend  of  industrial  evolution 
is  certainly  in  that  direction.  Of  vital  interest  is  the  question :  How 
do  these  new  conditions  affect  opportunities  of  young  men  now  begin¬ 
ning  the  battle  of  life  ? 

Answers  to  the  question  here  presented  have  been  obtained  from 
men  who  are  peculiarly  qualified  to  speak  with  authority  on  the  subject, 
because  their  knowledge  has  been  derived  from  practical  experience  and 
observation,  rather  than  from  theoretical  study.  No  one  has  a  closer 
acquaintance  with  business  conditions  as  they  actually  exist  than  has 
Charles  R.  Flint,  one  of  New  York’s  most  conspicuous  captains  of  com¬ 
merce  and  industry.  Mr.  Flint  says:  — 

Highly  developed  organizations,  resulting  in  an  enormous  volume 
of  business,  have  increased  the  necessity  for  intelligence  ;  and,  since  the 
supply  of  brains  is  not  equal  to  the  demand,  the  price  of  brains  has 
risen.  The  combining  of  individual  enterprises  has  caused  the  retire¬ 
ment  of  old  men  to  the  advisory  boards,  and  has  made  way  for  young 
men  for  the  active  posts.  In  our  factories,  our  mines,  our  railways,  in 
every  field  of  organized  industry,  there  are  ten  times  as  many  men 
receiving  $3,000  a  year  or  more  as  there  were  thirty  years  ago.  The 
population  of  the  country  certainly  has  not  increased  tenfold  in  that 
period ;  this  increase  in  the  number  of  good  salaries  is  prima  facie  evi¬ 
dence  that  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the  number  of  opportunities  for 
men  of  ability. 

While  economic  evolution  is  centralizing  production  in  large  cor¬ 
porations,  decentralization  of  ownership  goes  on  simultaneously  through 
the  rapid  distribution  of  shares.  Under  the  old  conditions  of  private 
ownership,  the  control  of  many  of  our  industrial  enterprises  would  have 
been  inherited  by  one  individual  or  family.  Now  the  control  is  subject 
to  the  rule  that  prevails  in  the  administration  of  our  state  —  the  rule  of 
the  majority.  It  is  seldom  that  the  heirs  of  industrial  giants  have  the 
capacity  to  succeed  to  the  management  of  gigantic  enterprises.  The 
majority  of  stockholders  —  for,  generally  speaking,  the  numerical  ma¬ 
jority  is  also  the  majority  in  interest  —  elect  as  officers  aspiring  young 
men  who,  through  years  of  application  to  a  particular  industry,  have 
proved  their  ability  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  leadership. 

It  is  not  merely  in  the  highest  positions  that  this  rule  holds  good. 
The  rule  in  every  corporate  business  is  to  divide  responsibilities  among 
men  fitted  by  their  training  to  direct  special  departments.  The  head  of 
a  single  department  in  a  great  modern  concern  has  more  authority  and 
responsibility  than  the  owner  of  a  private  business  had  twenty-five  years 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


65 


ago.  I  know  that  great  industrial  concerns  are  frequently  embarrassed 
because  they  cannot  find  men  who  can  command  big  salaries,  and  that 
the  directors  of  our  financial  institutions  are  put  to  it  to  find  trustworthy 
men  capable  of  handling  great  undertakings. 

Russell  Sage,  who  has  apparently  found  the  secret  of  youth  as  well 
as  of  success  that  leads  to  ever  increasing  millions,  says:  — 

*^The  young  man  of  to-day  eertainly  has  far  more  opportunities 
to  succeed  than  existed  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  The  field  is 
broader.  New  industries  are  constantly  being  established.  Big  en¬ 
terprises  create  a  demand  for  men  of  big  brains.  The  salaries  paid 
are  such  as  in  my  early  days  were  never  dreamed  of.  Large  corpora¬ 
tions  are  in  the  market  for  talent,  and  they  are  bidding  more  for  it  than 
was  offered  before,  beeause  they  cannot  get  enough  of  it.^^ 

General  Francis  V.  Greene,  soldier,  engineer,  business  man,  and  suc¬ 
cessful  in  all  three  capacities,  says:  — 

There  are  three  sorts  of  men,  and  for  two  of  these  sorts  the  tendency 
toward  industrial  consolidation  is  a  distinct  advantage,  while  for  the 
third  there  is  no  salvation  in  any  economic  system  that  has  yet  been  de¬ 
vised.  These  three  classes  are :  First,  the  thoroughly  competent,  who  go 
to  the  top  and  command  annual  salaries  that  would  once  have  been  for¬ 
tunes;  second,  the  half  competent,  who  find  profitable  employment  in  sub¬ 
ordinate  positions,  and  are  saved  from  going  into  business  for  themselves 
and  failing,  as  they  would  have  fallen  under  the  old  system ;  third,  the 
ineompetent,  who  sit  on  the  park  benches  as  they  would  have  done 
before. 

In  the  four  years  ending  June  30,  1900,  the  exports  of  the  United 
States  were  $4,800,000,000.  In  this  same  period  the  imports  were  $2,900, - 
000,000,  leaving  a  balance  in  our  favor  of  almost  $2,000,000,000.  This 
country  is  so  big,  and  its  trade  is  becoming  so  vast,  that  big  concerns  are 
needed  to  handle  it.  No  collection  of  small  manufacturers,  without  a 
common  purpose  except  to  fight  one  another,  could  hope  to  handle  such 
a  business.  It  requires  consolidation,  organization,  and  heads  capable 
of  handling  armies  of  men.  Thisfis  the  opportunity  of  the  young  man 
with  brains.  So  far  as  I  know  anything  about  large  concerns,  they  all 
are  looking  for  good  men  to  take  high  executive  positions.  The  man 
who  has  the  advantage  of  an  education  in  a  technical  school,  and  possesses 
business  ability,  will  be  rushed  right  along  to  the  top.  The  great  com¬ 
binations  can  well  afford  to  pay  large  salaries  to  men  who  can  manage 
their  expensive  machinery  and  who  are  trained  to  high  special  labor. 
Every  increase  in  the  extent  of  commercial  organization  and  in  the  trade 
of  the  country  widens  the  range  of  opportunities.  There  never  has  been 
a  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  when  there  were  so  many  chances 
as  there  are  now  for  young  men. 

13-S 


66 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


James  B.  Dill,  the  corporation  lawyer,  who  finds  that  the  new  condi¬ 
tions  contribute  very  materially  to  his  own  success,  since  he  has  received 
a  fortune  in  a  single  fee,  says :  — 

In  the  great  corporate  combinations  of  to-day,  individualism  of 
character,  individualism  of  brains  and  training,  individualism  of  mind, 
are  at  a  premium.  The  solution  of  the  corporate  problem,^ the  trend  to 
corporate  combination,  the  tendency  to  the  centralization  of  control  in¬ 
stead  of  displacing  men,  arranges  men  in  their  order  according  to  their 
character  and  education. 

United  States  Senator  Dolliver  says:  — 

It  is  evident  that  the  enlarged  activity  of  commerce  and  industry 
calls  for  better  training  than  the  simpler  methods  of  the  past,  and  enough 
is  already  known  to  make  it  sure  that,  instead  of  cutting  off  the  chances 
of  success,  they  have  been  multiplied  in  a  thousand  ways.  It  is  signifi¬ 
cant  that  practically  all  the  great  fortunes  of  our  time  were  accumulated 
by  men  who  started  with  nothing  and  worked  their  way  to  the  front. 
Whether  these  estates  are  in  mercantile  establishments,  in  railroads,  or 
in  factories,  one  thing  may  be  set  down  for  certain, —  that  they  require 
brains  to  administer  them ;  and  every  one  of  them  is  a  bidder  for  the  best 
administrative  talent  there  is  to  be  found. 

The  truth  is  that  the  new  industrial  conditions  have  put  emphasis 
on  the  demand  for  men  of  brains  and^character,  the  like  of  which  this 
world  has  never  before  known.  It  is  for  the  young  men  of  the  United 
States  to  get  ready  to  meet  the  conditions  of  these  larger  problems.  The 
call  is  not  for  all;  it  is  only  for  those  who  are  prepared.  The  prepara¬ 
tion  required  is  not  altogether  theoretical ;  it  is  intensely  practical.  The 
man  w'ho  fully  masters  the  business  with  which  he  connects  himself,  is 
bound  to  come  to  the  front. 

The  tendencies  of  modern  business  have  created  an  almost  un¬ 
limited  number  of  positions  of  responsibility  which,  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  must  be  filled  from  below.  Young  men  without  means,  and 
without  influential  connections,  will  fill  these  positions.  Within  a  few 
years  the  great  merchants  of  to-day  will  be  dead,  and  their  places  will 
be  taken  by  those  connected  with  the  houses  who  have  demonstrated 
their  fitness  to  become  leaders.  The  railroad  officials  whose  commands 
now  control  the  commerce  of  a  continent  will  soon  be  in  their  graves,  and 
anxious  boards  will  be  looking  for  their  successors.  They  will  pass  by 
even  their  own  children,  and  go  down  the  pay-roll  of  the  company  to  find 
the  man  who,  by  his  complete  grasp  of  its  business,  is  better  qualified 
than  anybody  else  to  manage  it.  Though  men  pass  from  the  stage  of 
action,  these  great  business  enterprises  must  go  on;  and,  while  they  go 
on,  they  have  a  thousand  eyes  looking  for  the  men  intellectually  equal  to 
the  task  of  administering  their  affairs. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


67 


W.  A.  Nash,  President  of  the  New  York  Corn  Exchange  Bank,  says:  — 
Our  country  is  filling  up  rapidly,  but  new  avenues  of  occupation  are 
being  constantly  opened  and  opportunities  for  advancement  are  far 
more  frequent  to-day  than  when  I  was  a  boy.  Bankers  are  on  the  alert 
for  trustworthy  and  capable  young  men.  Influence  and  personal  interest 
may  be  important  in  securing  a  position,  but  afterward,  every  man  must 
stand  on  his  own  merits. 

Alfred  F.  Bolles,  Professor  of  Finance  and  Political  Economy  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  discussing  the  effects  of  the  tendency  to 
consolidation  in  the  banking  business,  says :  — 

Manifestly,  the  prospect  for  the  top  places  is  not  so  bright  as  it 
was  a  few  years  ago.  But  then  there  are  many  places  of  great  re¬ 
sponsibility  which  demand  a  high  order  of  ability  and  whose  occu¬ 
pants  are  well  rewarded.  The  great  banks  have  more  of  these  places 
than  the  smaller,  and  thus  much  that  is  lost  to  the  individual  through 
consolidation  is  returned,  in  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  high  places  and 
salaries  as  under  the  old  order. 

President  Schurman,  of  Cornell  University,  takes  this  hopeful  view  of 
the  outlook  for  the  young  man  ambitious  to  succeed: — 

Judging  from  our  experience  at  Cornell  University,  there  never 
has  been  a  time  when  there  were  so  many  demands  for  able  and 
well-trained  young  men  as  at  present.  Perhaps  the  majority  of  these 
applications  come  from  concerns  supported  by  large  combinations  of 
capital.  As  the  success  of  this  sort  of  business  depends  upon  the 
ability  with  which  its  affairs  are  managed,  young  men  of  character 
and  brains  are  indispensable,  and  wonderfully  high  salaries  await  those 
who  can  earn  them.  I  think  that  the  opportunities  for  young  men 
under  the  present  system  of  large  combinations  of  capital  are  greater 
than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that  small  concerns  and 
competitive  undertakings  have  been  eliminated  by  these  great  com¬ 
binations.  There  are  now,  and  always  will  be,  small  factories,  small 
stores,  and  other  similar  enterprises.  Service  in  some  of  these  may 
give  a  young  man  more  varied  responsibility  and  consequently  more 
varied  training.  But  so  far  as  success  is  concerned,  if  one  measures 
success  by  the  financial  compensation  received,  I  think  young  men 
will  have  better  opportunities  in  the  large  institutions  than  in  the 
small  ones.^^ 

Speaking  of  the  engineering  profession,  Mr.  Schurman  relates  this 
striking  example  of  the  growing  demand  in  its  ranks  for  young  men 
properly  trained: — 

Fifteen  years  ago,  the  manufacturers  of  machinery  had  to  be 
coaxed  to  take  those  pioneers,  the  Cornell  men,  into  their  shops  and 


68 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


give  them  a  chance.  But  where  one  went,  many  followed.  Last 
spring,  when  the  class  of  1900  came  to  graduation,  every  student  in 
this  branch  was  eagerly  bid  for  two  or  three  times  over.  One  great 
electrical  firm  alone  asked  to  be  given  the  entire  class. 

A  writer,  discussing  the  chances  of  the  young  man  of  to-day,  says;  — 

During  a  recent  visit  to  that  hive  of  industry  which  swarms 
around  Pittsburg,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  Monongahela  and  Alle¬ 
gheny,  we  were  impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  most  of  the  great 
manufacturing  establishments,  the  highest  positions  of  responsibility 
were  filled  by  men  who  were  yet  several  years  on  this  side  of  the 
prime  of  life.  That  such  young  heads  should  so  often  be  directing 
vast  industrial  concerns,  is  due  in  part  to  the  amazing  rapidity  with 
which  new  industries  have  sprung  up  during  the  past  decade,  and  in 
part  to  the  fact  that  the  keen  competition  of  the  age  calls  for  the 
adaptiveness  and  energy  which  are  the  natural  qualities  of  youth. 

Time  was  when  there  was  an  overplus,  especially  in  the  technical 
trades  and  professions,  of  the  supply  of  qualified  young  men;  but 
to-day  conditions  are  entirely  reversed.  Clear  proof  of  this  was  shown 
at  the  recent  annual  commencement  exercises  of  the  Stevens  Institute 
of  Technology,  Hoboken,  when,  out  of  forty  graduates,  only  a  dozen 
were  present  to  receive  their  diplomas.  This  unprecedented  condition 
of  things  was  explained  by  President  Morton  on  the  ground  that  the 
demand  for  graduates  to  fill  business  positions  this  year  had  been  the 
most  urgent  in  the  history  of  the  Institute,  and  that  most  of  the  ab¬ 
sentees  had  been  induced  to  leave  the  Institute  a  week  or  more  before 
commencement,  in  order  that  they  might  begin  their  professional  duties 
at  once.  President  Morton  further  stated  that  the  whole  of  the  forty 
graduates  could  have  secured  positions  at  once  if  they  had  so  desired. 
There  is  no  gainsaying  the  significance  of  such  facts  as  these. 

Some  striking  examples  might  be  cited  of  men  who  have  achieved 
success  under  existing  industrial  conditions.  One  such  is  Charles  M. 
Schwab,  of  Pittsburg.  Twenty  years  ago  he  received  as  wages  a  dollar 
a  day,  at  the  Carnegie  Works.  Now,  he  receives  an  enormous  salary 
and  is  worth  several  million  dollars.  Among  his  subordinates  are  forty 
or  more  who  are  paid  salaries  ranging  from  $15,000  to  $50,000  a  year. 
H.  H.  Vreeland,  of  the  Metropolitan  Street  Railway  Company,  is  another 
inspiring  type  of  the  man  who  finds  existing  conditions  an  aid  rather 
than  an  obstacle  to  success.  Twenty  years  ago  he  was  shoveling  gravel 
on  a  construction  train  on  the  Long  Island  Railroad.  Now,  as  the  execu¬ 
tive  head  of  a  vast  street  traction  service,  he  is  in  receipt  of  a  princely 
income. 

It  is  not  easy  to  find  men  who  have  themselves  succeeded,  who  take 
other  than  a  most  sanguine  view  of  the  opportunities  for  the  brainy 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


69 


young  man,  afforded  by  the  changed  industrial  conditions  that  dominate 
the  business  world.  But  it  is  said  that  the  young  man  has  fewer  oppor¬ 
tunities  th^n  formerly  to  set  up  in  business  for  himself.  J.  Harry  Selz, 
a  member  of  a  large  manufacturing  and  jobbing  firm  in  Chicago,  says:  — 
Whenever  a  manufacturing  plant  becomes  the  property  of  a  trust 
or  combination,  a  change  takes  place  in  the  spirit  of  the  men,  partic¬ 
ularly  of  the  young  ^  men,  in  its  employ.  The  hope  of  securing  a 
proprietary  interest  is  gone  and  with  it  the  ambition  it  inspires. 
From  the  manager  to  the  cheapest  laborer,  all  who  are  actively 
identified  with  the  work  of  the  trust,  are  employees.  To  be  sure, 
some  of  them  command  imposing  salaries,  but  there  is  no  escaping 
the  uninspiring  consideration  that  they  are  servants  and  must  remain 
servants,  doing  the  bidding  of  a  ^  board  ^ — of  an  impersonal  master. 
There  is  little  in  this  prospect  to  fire  the  ambition  of  the  typical 
American,  who  loves  personal  liberty  and  independence,  and  who 
would  prefer  to  be  his  own  master,  and  the  proprietor  of  a  humble 
enterprise  expressing  his  own  individuality,  than  to  hold  a  position  of 
large  responsibility  and  limited  authority  in  the  service  of  a  combina¬ 
tion. 

The  answer  to  this  made  by  men  who  defend  industrial  combinations, 
is  that  statistics  show  that  only  a  very  few  of  every  hundred  who  set  up 
in  business  for  themselves  escape  failure;  that  being  one’s  own  boss  is 
usudlly  by  no  means  an  enviable  lot,  and  that,  measuring  success  by  dol¬ 
lars  and  cents,  which  is  the  practical  business  way  of  looking  at  it,  the 
opportunities  for  achieving  it  are  open  to  a  far  greater  number  to-day 
than  ever  before. 


70 


HOW  TO  GET  A  POSITION  AND  KEEP  IT 

ADVICE  OF  MARK  TWAIN  TO  A  TOUNG  MAN—  WHAT 
OTHER  SUCCESSFUL  MEN  SAT 

A  GOOD  many  years  ago,  a  young  stranger,  from  the 
West,  who  was  anxious  to  become  a  journalist,  but 
was  without  friends  or  influence,  appealed  to 
Samuel  L.  Clemens  [Mark  Twain],  to  help  him  to  a  po¬ 
sition  on  some  metropolitan  newspaper.  Mr.  Clemens, 
who  had  ideas  of  his  own  about  how  to  get  a  situation,  re¬ 
plied  as  follows:  — 

If  you  will  obey  my  instructions  strictly  I  will  get  you  a 
situation  on  a  daily  newspaper.  You  may  select  the  paper 
yourself:  also  the  city  and  the  state. 

Back  came  a  grateful  answer  from  the  young  man, 
naming  the  journal  of  his  choice,  and  promising  that 
whatever  his  benefactor’s  instructions  might  be,  he  would 
obey  them  to  the  letter.  Then  Mr.  Clemens  wrote  in  this  wise :  — 

Almost  any  man  will  give  ^mu  a  situation  if  you  are  willing  to  work 
for  nothing.  The  salary  will  follow  presently.  You  will  only  have  to  wait 
a  little  while  and  be  patient.  Therefore, — 

You  are  to  apply  for  work  at  the  office' of  your  choice.  You  are  to  go 
without  recommendations.  You  are  not  to  mention  my  name,  nor  any  one's 
but  your  own.  You  are  to  say  that  you  want  no  pay.  All  you  want  is 
work, —  work  of  any  sort.  You  are  so  tired  of  being  idle  that  life  is  a  burden 
to  you.  All  you  want  is  work  and  plenty  of  it.  You  do  not  want  a  penny’s 
worth  of  remuneration.  You  will  get  the  place,  whether  the  man  be  a  gen¬ 
erous  or  a  selfish  one. 

^^When  you  have  got  it,  do  not  sit  around  and  wait  for  others  to  find 
work  for  you.  Keep  watch  and  find  it  for  yourself.  When  you  cannot  find 
it,  invent  it.  This  will  rriake  you  needed  friends  among  the  members  of  the 
staff.  When  you  see  a  thing  that  is  worth  reporting,  go  to  the  office  and 
tell  about  it.  Soon  you  will  be  allowed  to  put  such  things  on  paper  your¬ 
self.  Thus  you  will  drift  by  natural  and  sure  degrees  into  regular  reporting, 
and  will  find  yourself  on  the  city  editor’s  staff,  without  any  one’s  quite 
knowing  how  or  when  you  got  there. 

Meantime,  though  you  may  have  made  yourself  necessary,  possibly 
even  indispensable,  you  are  never  to  mention  wages.  You  can  afford  to 
wait,  for  that  is  a  matter  that  will  take  care  of  itself.  By  and  by  there 
will  be  a  vacancy  on  a  rival  paper.  Some  reporter  of  your  acquaintance 
will  speak  of  you,  and  you  will  be  offered  the  place  at  current  wages. 


HERBERT  H.  VREELAND 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


71 

You  will  report  this  good  fortune  to  your  city  editor.  He  will  offer  you 
the  same  wages,  and  you  will  stay  where  you  are.  After  that,  when 
higher  pay  is  offered  you  on  another  paper,  you  are  not  to  take  the 
place  if  your  original  employer  is  willing  to  keep  you  at  a  like  price. 

The  young  man,  though  much  surprised  at  their  character,  faithfully 
followed  Mr.  Clemens’s  instructions.  He  got  the  situation  for  which  he 
applied, — that  of  general  utility  man, —  and  within  a  month  was  on  the 
city  editor’s  staff.  Before  the  end  of  the  second  month,  he  was  offered  a 
salaried  position  on  another  paper.  His  employers  duplicated  the  offer, 
and  he  remained  with  them.  His  salary  was  twice  raised  by  the  same 
process  during  the  next  four  years.  Then  he  became  chief  editor  of  an 
important  daily  in  the  South,  and  he  still  holds  that  position.  Five  other 
young  men,  who  subsequently  applied  to  Mr.  Clemens  for  aid,  were 
furnished  with  the  same  letter  of  advice,  followed  it,  and  found  the  posi¬ 
tions  they  were  seeking.  One  of  the  five  is  now  chief  leader  writer  on 
one  of  the  most  widely  known  and  successful  daily  journals  in  the  world. 
He  has  never  served  but  the  one  employer.  The  same  man  pays  his 
large  salary  to-day  who  took  him,  an  unknown  youth,  at  nothing  and 
find  himself, less  than  twenty  )^ears  ago. 

Herbert  H.  Vreeland,  the  president  of  the  Metropolitan  Street  Rail¬ 
way  Company  of  New  York,  delights  to  tell  of  how  he  secured  his  first 
situation.  He  was  born  a  poor  man’s  son,  and  his  father  died  when  he 
was  a  child.  Then  the  widowed  mother  moved  to  Jersey  City,  and  the 
ten-year-old  lad  set  out  to  find  work.  For  days  his  search  was  without 
avail,  but,  in  the  end,  a  German  grocer,  touched  by  his  earnestness,  gave 
him  a  place  as  chore  boy.  He  did  his  errands  briskly,  and  was  on  the 
alert  for  something  better.  He  had  not  long  been  chore  boy  when,  one 
day,  the  driver  of  the  grocer’s  wagon  had  trouble  with  a  horse  in  front 
of  the  store.  The  driver  wanted  to  go  in  one  direction  and  the  horse  in 
another.  The  driver  resorted  to  profanity  and  a  whip,  and  the  horse 
finally  refused  to  do  anything  but  to  kick  the  wagon  into  smithereens. 
The  chore  boy  watched  the  horse  and  the  driver  for  a  time,  and  then 
said  to  his  employer  that  he  thought  he  could  make  the  horse  go. 

What  does  a  boy  like  you  know  about  horses  ?  replied  the  grocer. 

You  just  keep  away  from  that  animal  or  you  will  get  the  top  of  your 
head  knocked  off.^^ 

But  I  know  something  about  horses, persisted  the  lad;  I  was 
brought  up  with  them,  and  I  know  I  can  handle  that  one.^^ 

All  right,  said  the  grocer,  keep  away  from  his  heels  and  see  what 
you  can  do  with  him.^^ 

This  was  Vreeland’s  opportunity  and  he  made  the  most  of  it.  Taking 
the  horse  by  the  bridle,  he  began  softly  rubbing  his  nose  while  he  talked 
to  him,  and  soon  the  animal  forgot  all  about  the  trouble  he  had  had  with 


72 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


the  driver.  Then  young  Vreeland  climbed  into  the  wagon,  drove  the 
horse  around  the  block,  and  came  back  to  the  store.  He  was  then  and 
there  promoted  from  chore  boy  to  driver  of  the  delivery  vragon.  He 
had  gained  his  first  job,  and  had  mounted  the  first  round  in  the  ladder 
of  success.  place  a  great  premium  on  faith  in  oneself,  said  he. 

Man  can  be  too  confiding  in  others,  but  never  too  confident  in  him¬ 
self.  It  is  not  so  much  method  as  mind  that  is  needed  to  solve  the 
problem  how  to  do  it.  If  you  believe  that  you  have  talent,  you  have 
it, —  use  it.  Most  men  who  succeed  in  this  world  make  their  own  oppor¬ 
tunities. 

Erastus  Wyman  secured  his  first  situation  through  his  own  unaided 
efforts.  I  earned  my  first  money,  said  he,  selling  newspapers  on  the 
streets  of  Toronto.  While  thus  employed,  I  learned  that  an  apprentice 
was  wanted  in  a  printing  office.  I  applied  for  the  position  and  secured 
it.  I  was  then  fourteen  years  old,  and  received  in  one  payment  $1.50 
for  my  first  week’s  work.  The  pride  and  joy  that  thrilled  my  slight 
frame  on  the  Saturday  night  when  I  took  to  my  mother  that  immense 
sum  —  the  earnings  of  six  days’  and  two  nights’  hard  labor  —  has  never 
been  equaled  by  any  emotion  since  experienced,  in  a  life  that  has  proved 
more  than  ordinarily  successful.  We — my  mother,  my  sister  and  myself, — 
.were  havings  hard  struggle,  living  over  a  little  grocery  store  on  King 
Street,  Toronto.  The  first  fruits,  in  the  shape  of  absolute  cash,  were  the 
most  welcome  harbingers  of  a  happy  future  for  both  these  dear  ones,  that 
a  loving  son  and  brother  ever  enjoyed.  For  four  long  years  I  earned,  as 
an  apprentice  at  the  case,  wages  enough  to  help  sustain  our  happy  house¬ 
hold,  never,  however,  exceeding  nine  dollars  per  week.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  first  Saturday  night  on  which  I  received  the  magnificent  sum 
of  five  dollars.  My  sister  and  myself  walked  down  the  principal  street 
with  this  great  sum,  looking  in  at  the  milliners’  windows,  intent  upon 
buying  a  bonnet  for  our  mother  with  that  not  absolutely  needed  to  pro¬ 
cure  food.  It  was  a  discouraging  journey,  for  everything  seemed  beyond 

I 

our  means,  but  finally  a  bonnet  shape  was  secured,  and,  with  a  few  black 
ribbons  and  a  purple  flower,  the  dear  sister  worked  a  miracle  of  beauty 
out  of  a  trifling  expenditure.  Those  were  happy  days,  when  it  took  ten 
long  hours  of  hard  labor  to  earn  a  dollar, —  ten  cents  an  hour, —  yet  in 
that  week’s  experience  was  laid  the  foundation  of  a  love  for  work,  that  is 
at  once  the  delight  and  the  reward  of  life.^^ 

The  early  experience  of  John  V.  Farwell,  the  founder  of  the  great 
wholesale  dry-goods  house  known  as  The  John  V.  Farwell  Company  of 
Chicago,  offers  an  inspiring  example  to  a  young  man  who  is  seeking 
employment  and  anxious  to  get  on  in  the  world.  Mr.  Farwell  owed 
his  start  on  the  road  to  business  success,  not  to  securing  a  position, 
but  to  being  discharged  from  one,  I  settled  in  Chicago  in  1845,^^ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


73 


said  he,  not  long-  after.  I  had  no  friends  in  the  city,  and  only  a  few 
dollars  in  my  pocket.  I  at  once  started  out  to  seek  employment,  and 
finally  secured  a  position  in  the  city  clerk’s  office.  By  virtue  of  the  posi¬ 
tion,  I  was  soon  assigned  to  make  reports  of  the  meetings  of  the  city 
council,  securing,  for  this  work,  extra  pay  to  the  amount  of  two  dollars 
a  meeting.  Soon,  however,  I  ran  against  a  snag  that  caused  me  to  meet 
with  shipwreck.  In  my  reports  of  council  proceedings,  I  set  down 
things  exactly  as  they  occurred,  and  this  did  not  please  certain  aider- 
men.  Although  I  received  more  than  an  inkling  of  this,  I  continued  to 
make  accurate  reports,  and,  the  first  thing  I  knew,  I  was  discharged 
from  the  employ  of  the  city.  The  blow  was  a  severe  one  to  me,  as  work 
was  hard  to  find.  I  was,  for  a  time,  deeply  discouraged,  but  quickly 
rallied  and  soon  found  work  as  a  bookkeeper  for  a  dry-goods  firm.  It 
was  in  this  place  that  I  resolved  to  become  a  merchant,  and,  although 
my  salary  was  very  small,  the  work  gave  me  an  insight  into  the  dry- 
goods  business.  After  a  time,  I  was  offered  a  position  with  another 
house  at  six  hundred  dollars  a  year,  which  enabled  me  to  save  a  good 
deal  of  money.  Within  five  years  of  my  arrival' in  Chicago,  I  was  made 
partner  in  the  firm.  I  have  sometimes  wondered  what  would  have  been 
my  lot  if  I  had  stayed  in  the  city  clerk’s  office. 

Getting  a  position  is  one  thing ;  making  it  a  road  to  something  better 
is  another  and  an  equally  important  thing.  William  H.  Newman 
was  a  clerk  in  a  Louisville  hotel,  at  ten  dollars  a  week.  He  had 
come  to  Louisville  from  a  Kentucky  farm,  and  by  his  own  efforts 
had  secured  a  position  as  clerk.  He  gave  strict  attention  to  his  duties, 
made  himself  popular  with  the  guests  of  the  hotel,  and  saved  his  money. 
Theodore  Harris,  now  the  president  of  a  Louisville  bank,  was  proprietor 
of  the  hotel.  Associated  with  him  in  the  management  were  John  S. 
Long  and  Colonel  R.  B.  Hall.  All  three  took  a  fancy  to  young  New¬ 
man,  and,  when  Mr.  Hall  was  elected  president  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad,  he  made  Newman  its  freight  agent  at  Shreveport,  Louisiana. 
The  young  man  quickly  mastered  the  duties  of  his  new  business,  and 
within  a  few  years  was  at  the  head  of  the  traffic  department.  His  ability 
to  secure  and  handle  business  attracted  the  attention  of  the  late  Jay 
Gould,  who  put  him  practically  at  the  head  of  the  traffic  department  of 
the  Gould  Southwestern  Railway  system.  Another  step  upward  made 
him  vice-president  of  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railway,  and  in  1889  he  took 
a  similar  position  in  the  management  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Railroad.  Four  years  ago,  Mr.  Newman  entered  the  service  of  the 
Great  Northern  Railway,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time.  One 
day,  in  the  summer  of  1899,  he  met  an  old  Louisville  friend  at  the 
Waldorf-Astoria,  in  New  York.  How  are  you  getting  along  ?  said 
the  Louisville  man  to  Mr.  Newman. 


74 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Pretty  well,^^  was  the  answer.  I  have  just  had  a  conversation 
with  Vanderbilt  and  he  offered  me  the  presidency  of  the  Lake  Shore. 

Well,  that  is  about  as  high  as  you  can  get  in  the  railroad  world,  is  it 
not  ?  was  the  response. 

Perhaps,  answered  Mr.  Newman.  Since  then  he  has  been  advanced 
to  the  presidency  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  with  a  salary  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

Jacob  L.  Greatsinger,  president  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  sys¬ 
tem,  was  so  anxious  to  become  a  railroad  man  that,  at  the  outset,  he 
worked  for  nothing,  learning  to  fire  on  an  old  wood-burning  switch  en¬ 
gine  at  Elmira,  N.  Y.  Three  years  later,  he  became  an  engineer,  but 
was  soon  impatient  to  become  a  mechanical  engineer.  He  went  from 
the  cab  to  the  shops,  and,  at  the  same  time,  devoted  his  nights  to  mas¬ 
tering  telegraphy.  In  1874  he  was  a  full-fledged  train  dispatcher,  and 
two  years  later  became  the  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Elmira, 
Courtland  and  Northern  Railroad,  now  a  part  of  the  Lehigh  system. 
Soon  afterward,  he  was  made  general  superintendent,  and  left  that  posi¬ 
tion  to  become  master  mechanic  and  superintendent  of  motive  power 
on  the  Chicago  and  Eastern  Illinois  Railroad.  He  went  thence  to  the 
Duluth  and  Iron  Range  Railroad  as  master-mechanic,  and  became,  in  a 
very  brief  period,  president  of  the  road.  He  ascribes  his  success  to 
the  fact  that  he  has  sought  to  make  the  most  of  every  position  that  has 
come  to  him. 

The  same  trait  explains  the  remarkably  successful  career  of  Lindsay 
Coleman,  now  the  foremost  bicycle  manufacturer  in  America.  Coleman 
was  born,  less  than  fifty  years  ago,  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  and,  while 
still  in  his  teens,  had  a  taste  of  mining  life  in  Colorado.  His  opportu¬ 
nity  did  not  come  until  he  was  thirty-three  years  old,  and,  when  it  did,  he 
made  it  himself.  It  was  in  1885  that  he  sought  employment  with  a  toy 
company  in  Chicago.  The  manager  of  the  company  at  first  declared 
that  there  was  no  vacancy,  but  Coleman  was  not  to  be  denied;  and, 
finally,  work  of  an  humble  sort  was  found  for  him.  The  business  of  the 
concern  was  the  making  of  baby  carriages,  wooden  playthings  for  the 
nursery,  and  velocipedes.  Ere  long  Coleman  asked  to  be  allowed  to  go 
on  the  road  to  sell  goods,  and,  when  his  wish  was  granted,  he  secured  so 
many  orders  that  the  factory  was  unequal  to  the  demands  made  upon  it. 
Thus  he  became  an  important  factor  in  the  firm’s  business,  which  grew 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  When  it  opened  an  Eastern  branch  in  New  York, 
he  obtained  a  proprietary  interest  in  the  new  concern,  and  soon  after 
came  into  entire  control.  During  the  next  six  years,  he  became  a  prin¬ 
cipal,  with  a  controlling  interest  in  the  Chicago  business,  and,  in  1894, 
its  manager  and  vice-president.  The  struggling  toy  factory  had  grown 
to  be  a  great  corporation,  worth  one  million  dollars.  Twenty-five  hundred 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


75 


persons  are  now  employed  by  Mr.  Coleman  in  the  various  departments 
of  his  business.  Had  he  accepted  no  for  an  answer,  when  he  first  applied 
for  employment,  his  career  might  have  been  a  widely  different  one. 

Men  who  compel  success  do  not  wait  for  employment,  when  it  is  not 
to  be  had  from  others.  They  make  it.  Leopold  Schepp,  whose  fortune 
now  mounts  into  the  millions,  began  business  life  at  the  age  of  eight 
years,  with  a  capital  of  one  cent.  This  one  cent  was  a  gift.  The  man 
who  gave  it  perhaps  forgot  the  sturdy  little  fellow  who  received  it. 
Young  Leopold  at  once  invested  in  two  newspapers,  and  sold  them  on 
the  street.  With  the  increased  capital  he  bought  more  papers,  and  so 
kept  expanding  his  trade,  until  he  was  one  of  the  most  successful 
newsboys  of  the  day.  Not  satisfied  with  selling  papers,  young  Schepp 
got  a  stock  of  suspenders,  and  other  little  articles,  which  he  sold  on  the 
streets.  Every  time  he  changed  the  nature  of  his  business,  he  got  into 
something  better  and  more  profitable.  Thus,  through  numerous  ven¬ 
tures,  he  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  merchant.  It  is  his  boast  that  he  never’ 
sought  employment  from  another. 

William  R.  Grace  earned  his  first  money  as  an  errand  boy  and  shop 
sweeper,  in  New  York.  Then  he  drifted  to  Peru,  where,  in  Callao,  he 
worked  in  a  butcher  shop,  and  later  became  a  ship-chandler.  It  was  the 
ship-chandler’s  business  that  started  him  on  the  road  to  fortune.  He 
was  a  shrewd,  sturdy  youth,  industrious  and  ambitious.  He  was  ob¬ 
servant,  and  ever  ready  to  grasp  an  opportunity  and  to  make  the  most 
of  it.  He  saw,  at  a  time  when  few  others  did,  the  possibilities  that  lay 
in  commercial  exchange  between  South  America  and  the  United  States, 
and  as  soon  as  he  could  he  set  up  as  a  trader  between  the  two  countries. 
The  business  that  was  then  very  small  is  now  very  large.  To-day  the 
house  of  William  R.  Grace  and  Company  has  an  international  reputation, 
with  branches  in  many  countries.  It  almost  controls  the  American  trade 
between  Peru  and  Chile,  and  a  fleet  of  ships  is  engaged  in  its  commerce. 
Those  who  are  acquainted  with  such  houses  say  that  the  former  ship- 
chandler  is  now  worth  between  ten  and  fifteen  million  dollars.  Mr. 
Grace  was  asked,  not  long  ago,  what  he  regards  as  the  elements  of 
success  in  a  business  career.  He  replied  that  there  were  three.  One,  and 
perhaps  the  chiefest,  was  good  health.  Without  that,  he  said,  no  person 
could  hope  for  success  in  a  prolonged  business  career.  The  second  element 
was  the  power  of  perfect  concentration,  and  absolute  devotion  to  an  idea 
until  it  had  been  accomplished.  The  third  was  the  power,  partly  natural, 
he  thought,  but  to  a  considerable  extent  to  be  acquired,  of  prescience,  or 
an  ability  to  forecast  the  future  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy.  Given 
these  three  qualifications,  Mr.  Grace  declared,  in  a  country  like  the 
United  States,  a  business  career  of  dazzling  and  magnificent  success  is 
assured  to  the  man  who  undertakes  it. 


76 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


When  Lyman  J.  Gage  was  eighteen  years  old,  he  sought  and  secured 
work  as  office  boy  and  junior  clerk,  in  a  bank,  at  Rome,  New  York. 
His  duties  were  to  sweep  the  office,  go  on  errands,  and  to  help  with  the 
bookkeeping.  His  wages  were  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  first  year, 
and  when  he  asked  for  a  raise  for  the  second,  the  firm  urged  that  he 
was  already  well  paid  for  a  beginner,  and,  rather  than  pay  him  more, 
allowed  him  to  leave  their  employ.  Young  Gage  thereupon  made  his 
way  to  Chicago.  He  had  determined  to  become  a  banker,  but  no  Chi¬ 
cago  bank  was  in  need  of  his  services.  He  could  not  afford  to  be  idle, 
however,  and  decided  to  take  any  work  that  might  be  offered  him.  The 
only  opening  was  little -to  his  liking,  but  he  took  it.  He  was  employed 
as  a  sort  of  roustabout  in  a  lumber  yard.  His  duties  were  to  carry  logs 
from  the  wagon  to  the  pile,  feed  logs  to  circular  saws,  and,  occasionally, 
to  drive  a  team  of  mules.  The  pay  was  a  pittance.  After  a  year 
passed  in  this  way,  he  became  night  watchman  of  the  yard,  and  spent 
his  time  guarding  against  fires,  which  ever  menace  lumber  piles.  An¬ 
other  year  passed  before  he  was  again  promoted.  Then  he  was  made 

s 

the  junior  bookkeeper,  but  this  promotion  was  not  for  long,  for  the  panic 
of  1857  came  on,  and  business  depression  made  it  necessary  for  his  em¬ 
ployer  to  dispense  with  the  junior  bookkeeper’s  services.  Seeking  in 
vain  for  other  employment,  he  was  obliged  to  resume  the  night  watch¬ 
man’s  task.  Not  until  he  had  been  three  years  in  Chicago  did  his  for- 
tune  turn.  During  all  that  time,  he  had  clung  to  the  idea  that  he  was 
^^cut  out  for  a  banker,  and  had  become  a  familiar  applicant  for  employ¬ 
ment  at  every  bank  in  town.  One  day  in  August,  1858,  he  was  sum¬ 
moned  to  the  office  of  a  trust  company  where  his  name  was  on  file  as  a 
candidate  for  any  opening,  however  humble.  The  cashier  asked  him 
if  he  could  keep  a  set  of  books.  I  can  try.  That  is  not  what  we 
want,  can  you  do  it  ?  I  can  if  it  can  be  done  in  twenty-three  hours 
out  of  the  twenty-four.^^  On  that  assurance  he  was  engaged  at  five  hun¬ 
dred  dollars  per  year.  He  had  obtained  the  long  desired  standing-room 
in  a  Chicago  bank.  A  few  months  later  he  was  the  paying  teller,  at 
twelve  hundred  a  year,  and,  thenceforward,  his  course  was  clear  and 
his  progress  rapid.  Mr.  Gage  believes  that  the  needed  position  and 
opportunity  come  to  the  young  man  who  seeks  them  and  is  not  to  be 
denied. 

Advancement,  in  one  form  or  another,  always  awaits  a  young  man 
who  makes  the  most  of  his  first  position.  Some  years  ago,  a  diffident, 
serious-faced  young  St.  Paul  lad,  named  Frank  E.  Ward,  went  to  work 
for  James  J.  Hill,  the  president  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway,  as  his 
personal  stenographer.  Times  had  never  been  easy  with  the  lad,  and  he 
approached  his  duties  with  terrible  earnestness.  From  the  first,  Mr.  Hill 
was  interested.  He  noticed  that  the  boy  always  had  a  book  handy,  which 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


77 


he  pored  over,  whenever  there  was  a  minute’s  respite.  One  day,  the 
president  picked  up  the  book.  It  was  not  a  work  of  fiction,  but  an  alge¬ 
bra,  and  no  objection  was  made  to  the  continued  study.  It  is  Mr.  Hill’s 
custom,  when  traveling  over  his  road,  to  sit  at  the  rear  end  of  the  train 
and  make  a  flying  inspection  of  the  tracks  and  the  right-of-way.  Until 
Frank  E.  Ward’s  time,  Mr.  Hill  had  always  insisted  that  whoever  was 
with  him,  on  a  trip  of  inspection,  should  watch  the  tracks;  but  he  made  an 
exception  in  the  case  of  the  young  stenographer,  who  was  allowed,  and  en¬ 
couraged,  to  study  during  the  trips.  Nevertheless,  the  boy  kept  a  rather 
close  watch  on  everything  pertaining  to  the  road  and  its  operation,  as 
Mr.  Hill  found  out,  from  tim'e  to  time,  by  talks  with  him.  In  due  time 
the  stenographer  was  promoted  to  be  the  president’s  assistant.  Later, 
when  Mr.  Hill  saw  the  lad,  now  grown  to  be  a  man,  so  competent  to 
work  alone,  he  promoted  him  again,  and  now  Frank  E.  Ward  writes 
general  superintendent  after  his  signature. 

Chauncey  M.  Depew’s  ideas  of  how  a  young  man  can  best  get  a  situa¬ 
tion,  and  keep  it,  are  charged  with  hopeful  common  sense.  A  pleasing 
address  and  an  air  of  self-reliance,^^  said  he,  are  often  worth  more  to  an 
applicant  for  work  than  a  dozen  letters  of  introduction  and  testimonials. 
When  he  has  secured  the  position,  he  has  only  to  display  industry,  good 
sense,  and  confidence  in  himself,  and  advancement  is  only  a  question  of 
time.^^ 

Mr.  Depew  cited  the  case  of  James  H.  Rutter,  as  proof  of  his  asser¬ 
tion.  Rutter  was  a  poor  boy,  who  lived  somewhere  on  the  line  of  the 
Erie  Railroad.  He  found  employment  as  a  clerk,  or  sort  of  freight  and 
baggage  agent,  at  a  country  station,  and  within  a  month  revealed  that 
the  place  and  the  man  were  suited  to  one  another.  That  was  in  the 
earliest  days  of  the  road.  Some  of  his  doings  which  indicated  talent 
attracted  attention,  and  he  was  promoted.  Then  he  was  put  in  charge  of 
the  freight  traffic  centering  at  Dunkirk.  There  he  revolutionized  the 
methods  then  prevailing,  brought  order  out  of  chaos,  and  was  regarded 
by  the  Erie  management  as  a  young  marvel.  They  advanced  him  until 
he  was  in  control  of  the  freight  traffic  of  that  road,  and  then-  he  dis¬ 
played  a  generalship,  which,  although  it  was  costly  for  the  Vanderbilts 
gained  the  admiration  of  the  old  commodore,  so  that  he  said :  That  is 
a  young  man  whom  we  must  have.^^  He  tempted  Rutter  away  from  the 
Erie  road  with  a  salary  of  $15,000  a  year,  and  created  a  new  office  for 
him  in  the  Central  system  which  was  called  general  traffic  manager. 
One  day  Rutter  called  upon  Commodore  Vanderbilt  and  spoke  of  a  matter 
of  extraordinary  difficulty  and  importance  respecting  some  freight  ar¬ 
rangements,  and  then  he  asked  the  commodore  what  he  should  do. 

Jim,^^  said  the  old  man,  what  does  the  New  York  Central  pay  you 
$15,000  a  year  for  ?  ” 


78 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


To  manage  its  freight  business. 

^^Well,  do  you  expect  I  am  going  to  earn  your  salary  for  you?” 
replied  the  commodore. 

Rutter  turned  and  left  the  room.  He  went  out  and  acted  on  his  own 
judgment;  acted  with  unerring  foresight,  and  was  soon  prom.oted  to  the 
vice-presidency.  Later,  he  succeeded  William  H.  Vanderbilt  as  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  system. 

Rutter  was  hired,”  said  Mr.  Depew,  to  manage  the  freight  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  Central.  He  was  expected  to  manage  it.  If  he  did  not 
do  it,  some  one  would  be  hired  who  could.” 

And  this  remark  points  a  moral  for  every  young  man  who  is  anxious 
to  find  a  situation  and  to  keep  it 


THE  YOUNG  MAN  IN  THE  LAW 

By  FREDERIC  R.  COUDERT 
Ex-President  of  New  York  State  Bar  Association 

I  KNOW  of  no  rules  or  set  of  rules  which  can  be  formu¬ 
lated  like  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  which,  being  followed,  necessarily 
lead  to  eminence  in  the  law.  The  elementary  conditions 
which  underlie  success  in  every  walk  of  life  underlie 
this.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  aspirant  for  worldly 
honors  or  financial  achievement  must  have  intelligence, 
moral  and  physical  health,  and  a  constitution  that  will 
enable  him  to  stand  disagreeable  friction  and  frequent 
disappointment. 

Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  a  classical  four  years’ 
course  in  college  in  its  influence  on  the  aspirant  for  pro¬ 
fessional  success.  Many  have  succeeded  and  become 
leaders  of  men  without  the  training  and  culture  of  a  college  education. 
Many  others  with  all  the  advantages  of  such  an  education  have  passed 
unnoticed  through  life.  But  we  arte  not  speaking  now  of  exceptional 
cases  and  may  overlook  both  classes.  Nature  will  have  her  joke  at  times, 
and  laugh  at  rules,  and  scoff  at  experience,  and  give  sophists  a  chance 
to  argue  and  show  their  wit;  but  the  fact,  none  the  less,  remains  that 
the  youth  who  has  gone  through  the  course  of  intellectual  gymnastics 
that  a  college  affords  starts  in  life  with  an  advantage.  Those  who  doubt 
this  may  look  at  our  public  records,  and  will  And  how  far  the  college- 
bred  man  is  in  the  lead.  In  Congress,  on  the  bench,  at  the  bar,  he 
stands  out  conspicuously.  If  you  consider  the  small  number  of  college 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


79 


graduates  in  the  country  compared  to  the  whole  population  and  see  what 
proportion  they  hold  of  the  high  positions  within  the  people’s  gift,  you 
must  acquiesce  in  the  general  proposition. 

Charles  Francis  Adams,  some  years  ago,  spoke  of  the  classical  Shib¬ 
boleth,^^  as  he  termed  it,  with  something  like  a  sneer,  and  almost  inti¬ 
mated  that  he  and  his  forebears  had  made  something  of  a  failure  of  life 
by  going  to  and  graduating  from  Harvard.  Perhaps  they  might  have 
done  better  if  they  had  never  studied  Virgil  or  Horace,  and  had  never 
heard  of  Demosthenes  or  Euripides,  but  on  the  whole  they  cannot, 
one  would  think,  complain  of  the  effects  of  the  Shibboleth  on  their 
house.  Two  presidents  of  the  United  States,  one  minister  to  Great 
Britain  (aye,  and  a  great  one),  scholars,  litterateurs^  lawyers,  four  genera¬ 
tions,  in  a  word,  of  conspicuous  citizens!  If  these  are  the  legitimate 
proofs  of  Harvard  training,  may  she  long  continue  to  pursue  the  useful 
tenor  of  her  brilliant  way  and  with  her  great  American  sisters  continue 
to  develop  the  latent  possibilities  in  our  young  men.  It  is  the  mission 
of  all  of  them  to  do  this;  not  to  create  but  to  draw  out,  to  quicken,  to 
strengthen  and  to  adapt  what  already  exists  to  the  purposes  of  a  useful 
life. 

Mr.  Brice  could  not  fail  to  recognize  the  superiority  which  a  classical 
training  had  secured  for  the  bar  of  our  country.  Next  after  wealth, 
he  says,  education  may  be  taken  to  be  an  element  or  quality  on  which 
social  standing  in  a  purely  democratic  country  depends.  In  this  respect 
the  bar  ranks  high.  Most  lawyers  have  had  a  college  training  and  are, 
by  necessity  of  their  employment,  persons  of  some  mental  ability.  In 
the  older  towns  they,  with  the  leading  clergymen,  form  the  intellectual 
dite  of  the  place. 

If  the  young  man  is  to  rise  as  a  lawyer,  it  is  essential  that  he  should 
not  be  a  fool,  and  it  is  equally  important  that  he  should  not  be  a 
liar.  There  is  no  other  profession  in  the  world  in  which  a  deserved 
reputation  for  truth  is  so  important.  Of  course,  we  know  that  there 
are  many  people  who  delight  in  their  own  small  witticisms  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  the  legal  profession,  their  sense  of  humor  being  somewhat 
limited.  It  certainly  is  a  fact  that  we  do  very  often  make  untrue 
statements,  but,  be  it  remembered,  those  statements  are  not  ours.  We 
are  the  mouth-pieces  of  clients  who  are  not  lawyers,  and  who  may  or  may 
not  be  truthful.  We  are  bound  to  accept  their  statements;  we  make  them 
as  their  statements  and  we  endorse  them  as  coming  from  them.  If 
false,  the  moral  obliquity  is  to  be  traced  to  their  consciences,  and  not 
to  that  of  an  advocate  whose  function  it  is  to  present  the  facts  upon 
which  he  relies  for  success  in  any  given  cause,  together  with  the  argu¬ 
ments  based  upon  such  facts.  If  the  young  advocate  does  not  love  the 
truth  for  itself,  and  is  not  self-respecting  enough  to  despise  a  lie,  even  if 


8o 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


he  can  thereby  achieve  success,  he  were  wise  to  do  from  expediency 
what  it  were  better  to  do  for  conscience’s  sake,  or  else  to  go  into  some 
other  business  where  he  can  falsify  to  his  heart’s  content. 

The  student  must  be  a  persistent  reader.  If  he  is  fortunate  enough 
to  be  able  to  go  to  a  law  school,  a  wise  preceptor  will  solve  his  doubts 
as  to  a  choice  of  books  by  giving  him  the  intellectual  pabulum  that  will 
best  serve  his  purpose.  If  not,  he  may  read  Kent  and  Blackstone, 
and  then  re-read  them,  and,  if  he  has  no  other  books,  read  them  over 
and  over  again,  together  with  the  most  important  decisions,  federal  and 
state.  One  good  book  is  worth  a  dozen  mediocre  ones.  The  man  of  one 
book,  homo unius has  proverbially  been  a  dangerous  adversary. 

The  study  of  the  Code  of  Practice  is  not  of  itself,  although  a  useful, 
an  ennobling  pursuit.  One  of  the  leaders  of  the  bar,  many  years  ago, 
when  the  Code  had  been  in  existence  for  half  a  dozen  years,  gravely  told 
me  that  he  had  discovered  that  the  more  a  man  knew  of  the  Code,  the 
less  he  knew  of  anything  else.  It  is  fair  to  say,  however,  that  all  the 
old-fashioned  law3^ers  denounced  the  Code  as  an  atrocious  invasion  of 
their  time-honored  monopoly,  and  were  extremely  reluctant  to  go  to 
school  to  David  Dudley  Field  and  his  colleagues. 

Lessons  obtained  from  experiences,  even  discouraging  experiences, 
are  as  valuable  as  school  lectures. 

As  to  my  first  ^discouragement,  I  do  not  remember  what  it  was, 
but  the  most  discouraging  emotion,  and  the  most  exacting  as  well,  is  to 
feel  that  you  have  been  vanquished  by  an  opponent  whose  very  weak¬ 
ness  and  incompetence  enlisted  the  favor  of  the  court,  and  compelled  its 
interference  for  the  sake  of  justice.  A  virtually  unprotected  adversary 
is  a  formidable  foe.  As  a  young  man,  I  infinitely  preferred  to  encounter 
an  able  and  experienced  lawyer  rather  than  an  incompetent,  ignorant, 
and  foolish  pettifogger.  If  beaten,  the  consciousness  that  I  had  not 
been,  in  common  parlance,  kicked  by  a  mule  was  comforting. 

A  lawyer’s  first  case  is,  relatively,  his  most  important. 

My  experience,  while  not  thrilling,  was  unique  in  its  way.  A  milli¬ 
ner,  who  spoke  no  English,  sued  a  lady  whose  early  education  had  been 
likewise  neglected.  The  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Lynch,  of  the 
Marine  Court,  who  was  an  accomplished  French  scholar;  the  lawyer  on 
the  other  side  was  of  French  extraction.  As  I  was  also  familiar  with  the 
language,  and  the  witnesses  spoke  no  other,  the  judge  suggested  that  we 
try  the  case  in  French,  thus  obviating  the  need  of  an  interpreter,  which 
we  did.  It  was  very  pleasant,  in  a  way,  because  it  was  novel,  and  Mr. 
O’Conor  himself  could  not  have  done  it ;  but  I  have  never  cared  to  try 
cases  in  French  since  that  time,  for  the  milliner  got  a  judgment  in  her 
favor,  which,  after  forty  years’  reflection,  I  am  inclined  to  think  was 
quite  correct.  Whether  she  recovered  anything  besides  a  judgment,  I 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


8t 


cannot  say.  I  believe  that  she  became  my  client  afterward,  and  I 
found  her  much  better  in  every  way  than  when  she  insisted  on  her  dues 
from  a  dilatory  and  impecunious  customer. 

Whether  the  newly-fledged  barrister  should  at  once  open  an  office  and 
boldly  challenge  fortune,  single-handed,  under  the  influence  of  his  own 
shingle  or  enlist  in  the  ranks  of  an  established  firm  in  a  humble  capacity, 
is  a  rather  debatable  question.  If  he  is  a  man  of  independent  means, 
with  benevolent  relatives  who  are  willing  to  allow  him  to  flesh  his  maiden 
sword  at  their  risk  and  expense,  the  experiment  of  a  solitary  attack  upon 
the  community  may  be  made.  But,  as  a  rule,  he  will  be  willing  to  drop 
his  pride  and  begin  at  the  lowest  rung  of  the  ladder.  Assuming  him 
to  be  well  equipped  in  the  theory  of  the  law,  and  to  have  assimilated 
something  from  the  many  books  which  he  has  read,  he  needs  experience, 
above  all  things,  and  this  he  will  more  readily  find  in  an  active  office 
where  clients  are  not  looked  upon  as  phenomena,  than  in  the  solitude  of 
the  unknown  and  friendless  attorney.  Virtue  is  as  likely  to  be  found  out 
as  crime.  If  the  beginner  is  diligent  and  intelligent  he  will  be  discov¬ 
ered.  Here,  as  in  every  other  calling,  brains  and  fidelity  are  indispensa¬ 
ble.  The  opportunity  to  learn  by  experience  the  young  lawyer  must 
have ;  and  he  runs  great  risks  of  not  getting  it,  if,  unknown,  unheralded, 
and  without  conspicuous  claims  to  public  notice,  he  ensconces  himself, 
alone  and  unmolested,  in  a  brand  new  office.  In  this  respect  he  is  less 
fortunate  than  the  young  physician,  for  the  latter  has  in  the  hospitals, 
the  asylums,  the  jails,  and  the  reformatories,  opportunities  to  practise  on 
patients  whose  financial  and  personal  conditions  do  not  permit  them  to 
select  their  advisers.  He  does  not  write  his  first  prescription  for  a  mil¬ 
lionaire  or  amputate  a  limb  belonging  to  .a  member  of  Congress.  If  he 
fails  in  his  honest  efforts  to  cure,  the  obscurity  of  the  patient  removes  all 
temptation  to  unkind  comment  by  outsiders.  Besides  this,  he  has 
behind  him  the  careful  and  skilful  experience  of  the  veteran  to  guide, 
correct,  advise,  and  help,  him.  This  invaluable  experience  gives  us  a 
corps  of  young  physicians  and  surgeons  as  able,  probably,  as  any  in  the 
world. 

But  the  young  lawyer  cannot  always  get  clients  even  without  a  fee. 
He  cannot,  generally,  secure  the  watchful  and  kindly  supervision  of  a 
competent  senior.  If  he  breaks  down  in  court  or  commits  a  palpable 
error  or  loses  a  manifestly  good  case,  or  egregiously  blunders,  his  mor¬ 
tification  cannot  well  be  conceived.  Sometimes  these  failures,  severe  as 
they  are  to  his  pride,  are  blessings  in  disguise,  for  they  teach  him  that 
Minerva  has  not  filled  his  cradle  with  unearned  gifts.  If  he  is  wise,  he 
may  comfort  himself  with  the  reflection  that  the  man,  lawyer,  or  layman, 
who  never  made  a  fool  of  himself,  was  spared  the  trouble  when  he  was 
born. 


13—6 


82 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  question  of  adopting  a  special  branch  of  the  law  sometimes  pre¬ 
sents  itself  to  the  beginner.  The  adoption  of  such  a  branch  as  patent 
law,  admiralty  law,  or  corporation  law,  implies  a  faculty  of  choice  which 
the  young  practitioner  cannot  well  exercise.  He  must  first  get  what  he 
can  of  the  substantial  food  of  life,  but  in  the  formation  of  his  menu  he 
has  little  to  do.  The  president  of  a  rich  syndicate  or  of  a  mighty  cor¬ 
poration  will  probably  not  call  upon  him  before  his  hair  is  gray.  He 
must  go  through  many  a  field  of  battle  and  prove  himself  a  valiant 
knight  before  the  highest  rewards  are  brought  to  his  feet.  No  doubt 
brave  young  privates  would  like  to  wear  the  epaulets  without  waiting  for 
the  slow  process  of  time,  but  alas!  there  are  others  in  the  way.  There 
are  stern  rules  which  will  not  allow  untried  heroes  to  be  taken  at  their 
own  measure  of  value. 

It  is  best,  therefore,  for  a  young  lawyer  to  prepare,  to  some  extent  at 
least,  for  business  of  every  kind.  He  can  be  ready,  if  a  sudden  and  un¬ 
expected  opportunity  arise,  to  show  that  he  knows  something  of  a  special 
subject  with  which  he  has  to  deal.  There  is  danger,  too,  in  his  devoting 
himself  entirely  to  a  specialty  —  danger  of  contracting  his  mind  and  pre¬ 
venting  its  due  and  legitimate  expansion.  An  old-fashioned  physician 
once  said  that  he  objected  to  specialists  because  they  made  lop-sided 
doctors.  There  is  much  the  same  danger  in  the  law. 

A  taste  for  mechanics  is  an  excellent  ally  in  the  practice  of  patent 
law,  which  is,  of  all,  the  most  profitable  branch  of  law  practice.  I  recall 
a  lawyer  practising  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States  who  was  reputed  to  have 
made  a  large  fortune  out  of  a  single  patent.  It  was  probably  true,  for 
his  client  said  to  me,  whether  humorously  or  not  I  shall  not  now  under¬ 
take  to  say:  ^^Oh!  Mr.  So-and-So,  my  counsel,  treated  me  very  liber¬ 
ally.  After  we  got  through  with  our  fight,  he  gave  me  $250,000.^^  How 
much, he  retained  I  did  not  inquire.  That  this  should  be  so  is  only  nat¬ 
ural,  for  a  successful  patent  carries  with  it  profits  enough  to  divide 
among  many  associates.  vSome  of  them  have  been  gold  mines,  as  the 
advocates  and  experts,  and  frequentl}^  the  parties  themselves,  can  tes¬ 
tify.  But  there  is  not  much  foundation  for  the  superstition  that  it  re¬ 
quires  exclusive  and  persistent  study  to  master  the  principles  of  patent 
law.  It  will  be  found  that  the  men  who  have  been  most  successful  owed 
that  success  not  so  much  to  a  mastery  of  the  principles  applicable  to  that 
kind  of  litigation,  but  rather  to  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  me¬ 
chanical  and  scientific  principles  involved. 

Admiralty  law  was  at  one  time  a  fruitful  source  of  litigation  and  of 
moderate  emolument  for  the  bar,  but  it  has  greatly  degenerated  from 
its  pristine  glory  since  the  commerce  of  the  world  has  been  carried  by 
steam.  The  lovely  old  cases  in  which  two  sailing  vessels  would  run  foul 
of  each  other,  and  when  bottomry  bonds  were  taken  thousands  of  miles 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


S3 


away,  and  when  ships  were  not  heard  of  for  many  months  at  a  time,  have 
passed  forever.  Besides  this,  underwriters  have  contracted  a  beggarly 
way  of  defrauding  proctors  in  admiralty  and  advocates  of  their  just  dues 
by  settling  whenever  they  can ;  no  effort  on  the  part  of  the  rising  gen¬ 
eration  can  probably  counteract  this  tendency.  Arbitration  is  the  order 
of  the  day,  and  millions  of  dollars  are  disposed  of  every  year  in  the 
City  of  New  York  alone  in  contests  wherein  lawyers  have  no  share.  I 
am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  bar  itself  is  responsible  to  a  great  extent 
for  this.  Enormous  charges  for  ordinary  services  have  alarmed  and  dis¬ 
gusted  clients.  Always  keep  your  client  within  the  squealing  point, 
said  an  old  lawyer  who  was  flourishing  when  I  began, —  a  lesson  which 
young  men  should  take  to  heart.  They  often  forget  that  being  dubbed 
with  the  title  of  counselor-at-law  does  not  All  them  to  overflowing 
with  knowledge,  as  it  certainly  does  not  bestow  upon  them  the  invalua¬ 
ble  gift  of  experience.  They  are  very  apt  to  kill  the  goose  that  lays  the 
golden  egg,  in  their  impatience  to  reach  pecuniary  independence.  Many 
of  them  have  lived  to  rue  the  day  and  to  regret  that  they  had  not  learned 
and  observed  the  practice  of  moderation.  Do  what  they  will,  the  gray¬ 
headed  hero  of  a  thousand  fights  must  perforce  know  something  that  the 
stripling  just  out  of  his  teens  has  not  yet  acquired.  The  latter  may  not 
believe  this,  but  he  will  discover  it  in  time. 

Every  young  lawyer  ought  to  have  something  to  do  with  polities,  that 
is  to  say,  he  should  entertain  an  opinion  upon  the  living  issues  of  the 
day,  and  should  be  able,  in  some  measure,  at  least,  to  assist  the  cause 
which  he  believes  to  be  just.  Not  that  he  should  necessarily  become  a 
slavish  adherent  of  any  one  of  the  political  parties,  although  they 
are  great  and  efficient  instrumentalities,  when  properly  directed,  for  do- 
ing  good.  A  Don  Quixote  going  around  with  an  old-fashioned  sword 
and  battle-ax,  and  no  one  but  his  faithful  Sancho  behind  him,  will  ac¬ 
complish  little,  even  if  the  principles  that  he  advocates  are  entitled  to  re¬ 
spect  and  admiration.  Political  parties  must  be  taken  as  they  are  and  as 
representing  averages.  A  soldier  will  do  more  fighting  with  one  hun¬ 
dred  or  one  thousand  trained  men  with  him  than  alone.  While  it  may 
be  justifiable  at  times  to  cut  off  from  all  party  affiliation  when  con¬ 
science  orders,  it  is  wise,  on  the  whole,  for  a  young  man  to  study  the 
ground  carefully  and  to  attach  himself  to  that  organization  which,  in  his 
judgment,  will  best  serve  the  great,  permanent  interests  of  the  country. 

The  hardest  lesson  for  the  young  lawyer  to  learn,  and  one  which 
some  older  lawyers  have  never  been  taught,  is  that  a  judge  is  not  neces¬ 
sarily  his  enemy,  a  fool,  or  a  knave,  because  he  decides  against  him. 

As  to  eloquence.  The  young  lawyer  naturally  desires  to  be  heard 
and  to  display  whatever  eloquence  nature  may  have  kindly  endowed 
him  with,  on  all  reasonable  occasions.  This  is  but  natural.  After  all, 


84 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


the  barrister  is  the  knight  of  the  profession,  and  has  always  occupied  a 
place  to  which  his  silent  brother  never  could  attain,  for  eloquence  is  a 
divine  gift.  The  human  voice  is  the  noblest  of  instruments,  and  the 
faculty  of  swaying  a  crowd,  whether  of  twelve  men  or  ten  thousand,  to 
one’s  caprice,  is  the  highest  with  which  the  Creator  has  endowed  the 
human  being.  The  real  orator  is  a  magician.  He  may  laugh  at  experi¬ 
ence  and  snub  common  sense ;  he  may  fill  the  breast  of  every  one  of  his 
hearers  with  his  own  passions,  make  them  unwilling  witnessed  of  his 
own  prejudices  and  enslave  them  to  his  will.  For  the  moment,  they 
become  his  puppets  and  sometimes  his  instruments.  But  the  real  orator 
is  very  rare.  Counterfeit  presentments  fill  the  land,  and  this  fact  makes 
it  difficult  for  the  ordinary  ear  to  distinguish  between  the  reality  and  its 
imitation.  Many  claim  that  eloquence  is  dying,  or  is  dead,  because 
men  are  now  too  intelligent  to  be  swayed  by  an  orator’s  accents.  We 
might  as  well  say  that  Paganini,  playing  on  his  Stradivarius,  could  not 
charm,  captivate,  and  delight  his  audience,  to-day,  as  he  could  have  done 
centuries  ago.  The  men  of  the  twentieth  century  have  the  same  organs, 
the  same  passions,  the  same  heart,  and  the  same  brain,  that  they  had 
when  Demosthenes  denounced  Philip,  and  Cicero  pursued  Catiline. 
Eloquence  has  its  value  now,  and  always  will  have  ujitil  the  constitution 
of  men  is  changed.  Only  the  circumstances  for  its  exercise  must  be 
considered.  Eloquence  out  of  place  is  no  eloquence  at  all.  To  make 
the  walls  of  a  court-room  quake  when  you  are  disputing  a  bill  of  costs 
will  seem  ridiculous.  The  thunders  of  the  orator  should  be  kept  for 
more  serious  occasions.  But  when  a  human  life,  or  the  prospect  of  a 
great  political  party,  or  the  welfare  of  the  nation,  is  concerned,  the  orator 
stands  out  the  master  of  men. 

When  I  am  asked  whether  the  young  lawyer  should  endeavor  to  be 
eloquent  or  impassioned  before  a  jury,  or  merely  state  his  case  and  ar¬ 
ray  his  facts  simply  and  logically,  the  answer  must  be  that  he  had  better 
not  try  to  be  eloquent,  even  where  eloquence  is  necessary,  for  if  he  has 
the  divine  fire  in  his  breast,  it  will  break  out  and  burn  every  obstacle 
strewing  its  path.  He  can  no  more  help  yielding  to  the  impetus  of  his 
own  genius  than  can  the  newly-fledged  pigeon  be  restrained  from  flying 
as  soon  as  his  wings  are  strong  enough  to  bear  him. 

But  he  must  begin,  and  he  will  begin  if  he  is  a  true  orator,  by  work¬ 
ing  upon  himself.  It  is  only  when  he  is  hurried  away  beyond  the  bounds 
of  cold  and  phlegmatic  reason  that  his  true  powers  come  into  play.  As 
Mr.  Hume  says,  speaking  of  the  ancient  orators:  ^^Nay,  to  consider  the 
matter  right  they  were  not  deceived  by  any  artifice.  The  orator,  by  the 
force  of  his  own  genius  and  eloquence,  first  inflamed  himself  with  anger, 
indignation,  pity,  sorrow;  and  then  communicated  those  impetuous 
movements  to  his  audience. 


LAW  AS  A  PART  OF  BUSINESS  EDUCATION 


By  GENERAL  BENJAMIN  F.  TRACT 

Many  men  do  not  feel  it  necessary  to  have  even  a  rudimentary  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  legal  principles  which  regulate  their  business  and 
social  activities,  though  it  is  self-evident  that  all  men  should 
know  something  at  least  of  that  which  has  so  direct  and  important  a 
bearing  upon  their  conduct.  The  words  of  Pope :  A  little  learning  is 
a  dangerous  thing,  are  particularly  true  when  applied  to  law,  yet  all 
active  men  and  women  should  undoubtedly  possess  some  degree  of  legal 
learning.  Many  costly  and  bitter  experiences  are  the  result  of  lack  of 
knowledge  of  the  law.  It  is  a  well-known  maxim  that  ignorance  of  the 
law  excuses  no  one.  Many  men  have  innocently  committed  illegal  acts 
at  the  penalty  of  much  trouble  and  expense,  and  even  at  the  cost  of  their 
lives. 

While  consequences  of  infractions  of  the  law  are  often  so  serious  that 
no  layman  should  take  important  action  involving  legal  considerations 
without  the  advice  of  a  practicing  lawyer,  there  frequently  occur  in  the 
course  of  a  business  day,  exigencies  which  must  be  immediately  faced, 
allowing  no  time  for  consultation.  In  these  numerous  cases,  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  fundamental  legal  principles  and  practices  frequently  is  of 
great  service.  Every  man  who  is  engaged  in  some  commercial  pursuit, 

should,  for  example,  have  a  clear  idea  of  what  constitutes  a  contract. 

« 

Unless  he  knows  that  there  must  be  in  his  contract  a  consideration  on 
both  sides,  that  no  contract  is  valid  which  does  not  involve  mutual  obli¬ 
gations,  he  may  make  mistakes  that  will  cause  important  transactions  to 
come  to  naught.  He  should  know  also  the  general  legal  principles  regu¬ 
lating  the  loaning  and  borrowing  of  money  and  the  making  of  notes.  If 
he  is  a  merchant,  he  should  have  knowledge  of  the  law  as  applied  to  the 
buying  and  selling  of  goods;  if  he  is  engaged  in  real  estate  operations 
he  should  be  familiar  with  the  numerous  common  law  principles  and 
statutory  enactments  relating  to  lands  and  houses ;  if  he  is  an  importer 
or  exporter  of  commodities,  and  is  identified  with  the  shipping  business, 
or  follows  the  sea  in  some  responsible  capacity,  a  knowledge  of  mari¬ 
time  law  will  be  very  serviceable  to  him.  In  short,  the  activities  of 
every  man  who  is  engaged  in  an  occupation  are  affected  by  certain  laws, 
an  understanding  of  which  will  enable  him  to  proceed  with  much  more 
wisdom  and  safety  than  if  he  were  ignorant  of  these  principles. 

Yet  not  a  little  danger,  as  I  have  already  indicated,  lies  in  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  legal  knowledge  by  the  layman.  If  he  depends  too  much  upon 


86 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


his  own  comprehension  of  law,  if  he  attempts  to  steer  his  craft  through 
the  rocks  and  shoals  and  currents  of  law  without  the  aid  and  advice  of 
an  experienced  pilot, —  that  is,  a  lawyer, —  he  courts  disaster,  and,  sooner 
or  later,  will  run  afoul  of  some  legal  reef.  He  would  better  know 
nothing  of  law  than  not  to  understand  his  own  limitations  and  know 
when  to  call  in  his  attorney.  It  has  been  often  and  well  said  that  the 
man  who  is  his  own  lawyer  has  a  fool  for  a  client.  Even  a  member  of 
the  profession  calls  to  his  assistance  some  brother  practitioner,  when  his 
own  private  interests  are  involved. 

The  possession  of  a  little  legal  law  is  like  the  possession  of  a  revol¬ 
ver  ;  its  timely  use  may  be  a  great  protection  to  a  man,  while  its  abuse, 
on  the  other  hand,  may  get  him  into  the  most  serious  kind  of  trouble. 
But,  if  he  applies,  discreetly  and  carefully,  his  knowledge  of  the  law,  he 
will  not  only  be  relieved  of  the  necessity  of  employing  a  lawyer  in  many 
instances  where  one  would  otherwise  be  needed,  but  he  will  be  able  to 
greatly  facilitate  the  work  of  the  lawyer  when  he  is  called  in.  He  has 
an  understanding  of  the  salient  facts  and  conditions  of  his  case  and  is 
able  to  bring  them  clearly  and  concisely  to  the  attention  of  his  attorney, 
which  is  much  to  the  interest  of  both  concerned. 

Aside  from  the  purely  practical  use  to  which  a  man’s  knowledge  of 
law  can  be  put,  he  derives  much  mental  benefit  from  its  study.  Its 
framework  is  a  symmetrical  structure  of  justice,  reason,  and  common 
sense,  which  appeals  to  every  man  of  normal  intellect,  and  which,  in  its 
analysis,  trains  the  mind  to  accurate  and  logical  thinking.  While  the 
law  embraces  an  immense  amount  of  detail,  its  general  principles  are 
based  on  fundamental  human  rights  and  obligations,  and  constitute,  I 
think,  an  important  branch  of  general  education.  Every  intelligent 
man,  and  woman,  too,  is  given  a  broader  and  more  comprehensive  out¬ 
look  on  life  and  a  better  trained  mind,  both  for  abstract  thought  and  for 
practical  action,  by  a  year  or  two  devoted  to  the  study  of  law.  They 
also  reach,  by  this  means,  a  better  understanding  of  the  institutions  of 
their  country  and  of  their  rights  and  obligations  as  citizens,  and  are 
thus  able  to  fulfill  their  various  civic  duties  much  more  intelligently 
and  to  lend  their  influence  in  the  direction  of  good  government.  This 
is  particularly  advantageous  in  a  nation  which,  like  our  own,  has  a  repub¬ 
lican  form  of  government. 

The  benefits  of  a  certain  amount  of  legal  knowledge  on  the  part  of 
the  layman  is  becoming  more  and  more  generally  recognized.  Every 
law  class  nowadays  contains  a  number  of  young  men  who  have  no  ex¬ 
pectation  of  practising  law.  They  are  studying  it  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  adding  to  their  equipment  as  business  men.  A  large  number  have 
found  it  of  great  value  in  commercial  careers.  Many  women,  also, 
study  law  for  the  purpose,  not  of  becoming  practicing  lawyers,  but  of 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


87 


gaining  accurate  knowledge  of  their  legal  position  and  of  their  property 
rights  before  the  law.  Women  of  wealth  are  thus  able  to  manage  their 
own  estates  with  a  large  degree  of  independence. 

To  recapitulate,  both  men  and  women  are  given,  by  legal  study, 
broader  and  more  completely  furnished  minds,  greater  practical  ability, 
clearer  ideas  of  justice,  and  a  better  appreciation  of  the  duties  of  citi¬ 
zenship  than  are  possessed  by  those  to  whom  law  is  a  sealed  book. 
Therefore,  I  believe  that  every  young  man  and  woman  would  be  bene¬ 
fited  by  even  a  small  amount  of  legal  study.  To  the  active  mind,  the 
subject  is  by  no  means  a  dull  one,  built,  as  it  is,  upon  human  effort  and 
the  incessant  play  of  passions  and  desires. 


THE  SUCCESSFUL  LAWYER  MUST  HAVE  A 
KNOWLEDGE  OF  BUSINESS 


By  AUSTIN  B.  FLETCHER,  LL.  D. 

Of  the  Bar  of  New  York  City 

IT  IS  frequently  stated  that  law  has  ceased  to  be  a  pro¬ 
fession,  and  has  become  a  business.  The  statement  is 
extravagant,  but  contains  enough  of  truth  to  find 
ready  acceptance  with  many.  The  commercial  spirit  of 
the  age  has  im'pressed  itself  upon  everything  in  it.  The 
lawyer  is  no  exception.  He  is  continually  consulted  upon 
the  law  applying  to  business  transactions  and  situations, 
and,  if  he  is  to  give  the  best  advice,  he  must  thoroughly 
understand  that  to  which  the  law  is  to  be  applied.  To  be 
qualified  for  this,  one  must  have  a  keen  business  instinct, 
and  this  should  be  supplemented  by  a  commercial  experi¬ 
ence.  The  latter  may  be  obtained  by  any  one,  but  the 
former  is  as  much  a  gift  of  the  gods  as  oratory  or  poetry, 
either  of  which  may  be  improved  by  study  and  exercise,  but  can  never 
reach  the  dignity  of  true  success  unless  it  is  implanted  in  one’s  nature. 
A  lawyer  possessing  the  highest  business  instinct,  a  calm,  well-balanced 
judgment,  and  the  ability  to  quickly  grasp  the  situation,  is  to-day  more 
sought  than  the  great  advocate ;  and  if  the  making  of  money,  that  last 
infirmity  of  noble  minds,  is  an  indication  of  the  measure  of  success,  he 
is  the  most  successful  in  his  profession. 

Ninety-five  per  cent,  of  those  who  enter  upon  the  practice  of  the  law 
would  probably  have  done  much  better  if  they  had  chosen  a  different 
kind  of  work.  Not  more  than  five  per  cent,  attain  a  genuine  success,  in 


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BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


accomplishment  or  reward.  No  one  should  enter  any  of  the  learned 
professions  because  he  believes  it  offers  large  pecuniary  promise.  The 
various  mercantile  and  allied  pursuits  present  far’ greater  inducements  in 
this  direction.  If  one  prefers  the  law  to  any  other  occupation,  he  pos¬ 
sesses  one  of  the  elements  of  success  in  taking  it  up.  He  should  next 
be  certain  that  he  has  sufficient  stamdna  to  hold  the  moral  rudder  true, 
for  there  is  no  profession  or  business  vocation  which  requires  a  keener 
moral  sense  and  greater  strength  of  character  than  the  practice  of  the 
law.  Some  of  his  clients  who  criticize  the  acts  of  others  and  the  legal 
profession  generally,  will  probably  be  the  first  to  openly  or  guardedly 
request  him  to  do  that  which  all  men  know  to  be  dishonorable,  or  un¬ 
lawful.  The  day  is  approaching  when  the  law  schools  will  as  carefully 
examine  into  a  candidate’s  moral  antecedents,  condition,  and  tendencies, 
as  into  his  mental  ability.  He  should  next  have  the  broadest  general  and 
legal  education  that  his  circumstances  will  permit  him  to  obtain.  The 
race  is  not  to  the  swift,  and  no  time  is  so  well  spent  as  that  given  to  a 
thorough  and  careful  preparation. 

To  the  information  gathered  from  books  and  schools,  should  be  added 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  accounts,  the  general  principles  of  business, 
rules  of  trade,  commercial  usages,  and  methods. 

The  attainment  of  the  above  will  require  the  best  efforts  of  a  young 
man  until  he  is  nearly  thirty  years  of  age,  but  at  forty  he  will  have  far 
outstripped  those  who  hurried  through  their  preparation  and  began  prac¬ 
tice  at  twenty-one,  and  succeeding  years  will  continue  to  widen  the  dif¬ 
ference  between  them. 

_  To  lawyers  of  this  class  falls  the  management  of  large  estates,  in¬ 
volving  the  investment  and  care  of  vast  sums.  They  become  directors 
in  banks,  trust  companies,  and  business  corporations,  in  which  their 
knowledge  of  the  law,  together  with  their  acquaintance  with  business 
principles  and  methods,  gives  them  an  advantageous  position. 

Many  lawyers  in  our  largest  cities  have  given  up  the  general  practice 
of  their  profession,  and  have  become  the  legal  and  business  heads  of  some 
of  the  most  important  corporations.  Instances  can  readily  be  given  by  any 
well-informed  lawyer  of  members  of  his  profession,  who,  because  they 
combine  a  knowledge  of  the  law  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  business 
principles,  have  been  taken  into  partnership  in  some  of  the  largest  bank¬ 
ing  houses  in  the  world;  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  greatest 
financial  institutions,  with  remuneration  commensurate  with  their  re¬ 
sponsibilities;  placed  in  charge  of  railroad  systems  with  a  salary  of 
$100,000  per  year,  which  is  largely  increased  by  the  opportunities  for 
advantageous  investment ;  or  who  have  been  given  the  management  of 
estates  of  many  millions,  upon  the  income  of  which  they  receive  ten  per 
cent,  which  rapidly  leads  on  to  fortune.  Not  one  of  these  positions  is 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


89 


obtained  or  held  because  of  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  law  alone,  but 
because  the  holder  has  also  a  business  experience  and  capacity  that  en- 
-  titles  him  to  all  that  he  receives.  Such  opportunities  and  demands  will 
continue  to  increase,  and  the  lawyer  who  will  be  most  sought  is  he  who 
has  also  a  practical  knowledge  of  business  principles. 

A  simple  instance  may  be  given  illustrating  a  greater  necessity  for 
business  foresight  than  knowledge  of  the  law.  The  lawyer  has  trust 
funds  to  manage.  His  first  desire  is  that  the  investment  shall  be  safe, 
and  next  that  it  shall  earn  a  fair  rate  of  interest.  Government,  state, 
and  municipal  bonds  return  from  about  three  per  cent,  to  less  than  two 
per  cent.,  which  renders  them  unsatisfactory  in  many  instances.  First 
mortgages  on  improved  real  estate  pay  from  four  per  cent,  to  five  per 
cent.,  and  are  a  favorite  investment.  The  drawing  of  the  mortgage  and 
the  strictly  legal  work  connected  with  the  instrument  is  a  very  simple 
matter,  but  the  business  judgment  necessary  in  examining  the  property 
is  far  more  important.  Most  mortgagors  in  our  large  cities  are  real 
estate  speculators,  and,  desiring  to  borrow  as  much  as  possible,  will  resort 
to  all  means  to  accomplish  that  end.  The  lender  must  rely  upon  his  own 
judgment,  and  very  many  conditions  and  circumstances  enter  into  its 
formation. 

The  bond  is  not  to  be  considered,  for  the  bondsman  is  almost  invari¬ 
ably  a  dummy  who  is  paid  ten  dollars  for  his  trouble,  and  is  entirely  irre¬ 
sponsible  ;  and  even  if  he  was  responsible  when  he  signed  the  bond,  he 
might  not  be  when  the  mortgage  became  due.  The  lender  has  nothing 
to  look  to  for  payment  but  the  value  of  the  property.  The  loan  is  usually 
for  three  or  five  years,  and  it  is  even  more  important  to  know  what  the 
property  will  be  worth  when  the  mortgage  expires  than  it  is  when  the  ap¬ 
plication  for  the  loan  is  made.  The  value  of  property  in  some  localities  in 
New  York  City  has  within  five  years  fallen  from  twenty  to  forty  per  cent. 
If  new  business  property  is  being  examined,  the  question  of  whether  it  is 
well  adapted  for  its  purposes  must  be  considered :  does  it  meet  modern 
requirements ;  is  it  too  good  or  not  good  enough  ?  Either  may  prove 
fatal  to  its  success.  Will  the  locality  continue  as  a  business  center,  or 
will  trade  move  away  ?  If  it  is  an  apartment  house,  it  is  necessary  to 
consider  whether  the  class  for  which  it  was  built  will  continue  to  live  in 
the  vicinity;  or  will  it  change?  Surroundings,  objectionable  features, 
and  people,  and  numerous  other  considerations  all  enter  into  the  question 
of  the  loan,  and  are  vastly  more  difficult  to  dispose  of  than  the  mere 
legal  examination  of  the  title  and  the  drawing  and  execution  of  the 
mortgage. 

Men  of  important  affairs  are  too  busy  to  follow  details.  They  pre¬ 
sent  the  skeleton  of  a  proposed  contract  to  their  attorney  with  the 
remark:  These  are  the  main  features,  put  it  into  proper  form,  and  see 


90 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


that  I  am  fully  protected.  The  successful  lawyer  must  catch  the  spirit 
of  the  contract,  furnish  the  details,  and  supply  omissions. 

Business  methods,  conditions,  and  influences  are  continually  chang¬ 
ing  ;  questions  arise  which  have  no  precedent,  vast  interests  are  involved, 
and  mistakes  are  expensive.  If  advice  is  to  be  valuable  these  must  be 
understood.  The  craze  for  the  indiscriminate  combination  of  business 
enterprises  during  recent  years,  with  the  clumsy  and  unbusiness-like 
methods  pursued,  the  result  of  bad  advice,  poor  judgment,  and  the 
desire  for  speculative  gain,  has  laid  the  foundation  for  years  of  employ¬ 
ment  for  the  thoughtful  lawyer  with  keen  business  capacity,  who  will  be 
called  upon  to  reorganize  and  correct  the  mistakes  that  have  been  made. 
Many  other  instances  can  be  readily  supplied.  A  business  instinct  and 
experience  is  always  desirable,  regardless  of  the  nature  of  one’s  practice, 
and  is  absolutely  necessary  for  success  in  most  branches  of  the  law. 


Calendar  (Old  English  Calend^  a  month). —  An  orderly  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  divisions  of  time,  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  civil  life,  as 
years,  months,  weeks,  and  days;  also  a  register  of  the  year,  with  its 
divisions;  an  almanac.  In  reckoning  time,  the  month  seems  to  have 
been  suggested  by  the  period  of  the  moon’s  revolution,  in  29^  days, 
and  this  method  of  computation  was  adopted  in  the  Jewish  and  Greek 
calendars.  This  was,  however,  only  a  rough  approximation  to  the  true 
year,  as  we  now  understand  it,  and  to  adjust  matters  both  Jews  and 
Greeks,  as  well  as  the  Romans  after  them  (the  Romans  originally  had 
a  year  of  only  ten  months)  intercalated  a  month  from  time  to  time 
to  adapt  the  lunar  to  the  solar  year.  In  the  year  46  B.  C.,  Caesar, 
with  the  assistance  of  an  Alexandrian  astronomer,  made  a  reform  in 
the  Roman  calendar.  He  effected  this  by  making  the  year  46  B.  C. 
(^Ghe  year  of  confusion,  as  it  was  called)  consist  of  445  days,  and 
the  succeeding  year  365  days,  with  the  exception  of  ^every  fourth 
year,  which  was  to  consist  of  366  days.  This  change  is  known  as  the 
Julian  Calendar,  but  as  it  was  not  strictly  accurate,  even  with  Caesar’s 
reconstruction  of  the  months  and  their  altered  number  of  days,  and 
his  transferring  of  the  beginning  of  the  year  from  Mar.  i  back  to 
Jan.  I,  a  later  change  took  place  in  the  era  of  Pope  Gregory  XIII., 
known  as  the  new  style,  or  Gregorian  Calendar,  when  ten  days  were 
dropped  and  the  calendar  was  made  more  in  harmony  with  the  sea¬ 
sons  and  the  true  year.  A  change  in  the  calendar  was'  made  in 
France  during  the  Revolution,  but  this  was  discontinued  in  1805,  and 
the  Gregorian  Calendar  method  was  resumed. 

Calendar  —  Roman  Year. —  The  new  year  of  the  Romans  began 
in  March.  This  made  September,  October,  November,  and  December 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


91 


the  seventh,  eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  months  respectively,  and  their 
names  are  derived  from  the  corresponding  Latin  numerals. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Augustus  the  fifth  and  sixth 
months  of  their  year  were  called  Quintilis  and  Sextilis ;  meaning  fifth 
and  sixth.  These  were  changed  to  Julian  and  Augustus  in  honor  of 
the  Caesars.  The  first  day  of  the  Roman  month  was  called  the 
KalendsC^  Whence  we  get  our  word  Calendar.  The  Nones  fall 
on  the  seventh  day  of  March,  May,  July,  and  October,  and  on  the  fifth 
of  the  other  months.  The  Ides^^  came  eight  days  after  the  Nones. 
They  reckoned  the  other  days  of  the  month  as  so  many  days  before 
the  Kalends,  Nones,  or  Ides.  The  Ides  of  March,  the  day  upon  which 
Julius  Caesar  was  assassinated,  was  the  fifteenth  of  March.  December 
31st  was  ^Mhe  day  before  the  Kalends  of  January  but  by  a  peculiar 
and  confusing  method  of  including  both  days  involved  the  30th  of 
December  was  not  the  second  but  the  third  day  before  the  Kalends 
of  January. 

The  Greek  month  had  no  Kalends,  and  when  a  Roman  wanted  to 
name  an  indefinite  date  he  would  jokingly  say  that  it  would  occur  on 
the  Greek  Kalends,  which  meant  never.  Rather  akin  to  our  method 
of  saying  that  to-morrow  never  comes. 

Russian  Year. —  This  varies  little  of  ours  except  that  they  have 
retained  the  old  style  of  computation  which  makes  all  their  dates 
thirteen  days  later.  The  Russians  have  shown  great  conservatism  in 
refusing  to  change  their  dates  to  correspond  to  the  rest  of  Europe. 

Advent. —  The  space  of  four  weeks  immediately  preceding 
Christmas.  It  commences  on  the  Sunday  nearest  St.  Andrew’s  Day 
(Nov.  30). 

All  Saints’  Day  or  All  Hallows  (Halloween). —  A  festival  to 
commemorate  Saints  and  Martyrs  not  honored  by  the  assignment  of 
an  especial  day.  Begun  by  Pope  Boniface  IV.,  about  607,  established 
by  Pope  Gregory  IV.  (about  830). 

All  Souls’  Day. —  (Nov.  2)  A  festival  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  to  commemorate  the  souls  of  the  faithful. 

Andrew,  St. —  The  first  disciple.  He  is  the  principal  patron  of 
Scotland.  Tradition  says  he  was  crucified  at  Patrse,  now  Patras,  in 
Greece,  upon  a  cross  of  this  form,  X  (crux  decussata),  called  St. 
Andrew’s  Cross.  It  is  a  white  saltire  on  a  blue  ground.  Combined 
with  the  crosses  of  St.  George  of  England  and  St.  Patrick  of  Ireland 
it  forms  the  Union  Jack.  St.  Andrew  is  also  much  venerated  in 
Russia,  and  the  order  of  St.  Andrew,  founded  by  Peter  the  Great 
in  1708,  is  the  highest  in  the  state.  St.  Andrew’s  Day  falls  on 
Nov.  30. 


92 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Anno  Domini  (A.  D.,  the  year  of  our  Lord). —  The  Christian  era  begins 
with  the  first  day  of  January  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  194th  Olympiad 
(Greek  mode  of  estimating  time);  or  in  the  753d  year  of  the  building 
of  Rome  (according  to  the  Roman  method).  Dionysius  Exiguus,  or 
Denys  Le  Petit,  finst  introduced  the  era  about  the  year  532.  Charles 
III.,  of  Germany,  was  the  first  to  use  the  phrase  ^Gn  the  year  of  our 
Lord  in  connection  with  his  reign,  in  879. 

Annus  Mirabilis  (The  year  of  wonders).  —  A  year  (1666)  noted 
for  the  plague,  and  the  great  fire  in  London,  and  the  English  victory 
over  the  Dutch  —  the  subject  of  a  poem  by  John  Dryden. 

April. —  The  Romans  gave  the  name  Aprilis  to  the  fourth 
month.  It  is  derived  from  the  verb  aperire  ^Go  open,^^  perhaps 
because  the  buds  began  to  open  at  this  season.  The  custom  of  play¬ 
ing  little  tricks  on  the  first  day  of  this  month  is  almost  universal. 
It  is  believed  that  the  custom  spread  to  England  and  Germany  from 
France,  but  its  origin  is  doubtful. 

Arbor  Day. —  A  day  set  apart  with  the  object  of  restoring  forest 
trees.  It  was  first  recommended  by  Gov.  Morton,  of  Nebraska,  to 
raise  a  barrier  of  trees  to  protect  the  land  from  the  winds  of 
west  and  south.  Most  of  the  states  have  legalized  the  holiday.  The 
public  schools  have  fostered  the  idea. 

Ash  Wednesday. —  The  first  day  of  Lent;  so  called  from  the 
religious  custom  of  strewing  ashes  on  the  head  as  a  sign  of  penitence. 

Bartholomew  Fair. —  Originally  the  great  cloth  fair  or  market  of 
the  kingdom.  Held  annually  on  St.  Bartholomew’s  Day  at  Smith- 
field,  London,  until  1840,  then  removed  to  Islington,  where  it  ceased 
to  exist  in  1855. 

Black  Friday. —  (i.)  In  England,  Good  Friday  is  so  called  because 
on  that  day  the  vestments  of  the  clergy  are  black.  2.  Also  in  England, 
Dec.  6,  1745,  the  day  on  which  news  reached  London  that  Charles 
Edward,  the  Young  Pretender,  had  reached  Derby.  Another  Black 
Friday  in  England  was  the  day  of  the  great  commercial  panic  caused 
by  the  failure  of  the  banking  house  of  Overend  and  Gurney,  May  ii, 
1866.  In  New  York,  a  memorable  Black  Friday  was  Sept.  24,  1869, 
when  a  great  panic  was  caused  by  reckless  gold  speculation  in  New 
York  City. 

Calendar- Amendment  Act. —  In  1751  an  act  of  British  Parlia¬ 
ment  was  passed,  to  take  effect  in  1752,  which  made  some  changes 
in  the  mode  of  reckoning  time.  January  i,  1752,  was  made  the  begin 
ning  of  the  year,  instead  of  March  25  or  Lady  Day.  The  ii  days 
excess  was  gotten  rid  of  by  making  Sept.  3,  1752,  the  14th.  It  is  also 
known  as  Lord  Chesterfield’s  Act. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


93 


Candlemas  Day  (F^b.  2). —  To  commemorate  the  purification  of  the 
Virgin. 

Carnival. —  A  season  of  revelry,  masquerading,  and  buffoonery  in 
Italy,  which  in  modern  times  is  restricted  to  the  eight  days  before 
Ash  Wednesday.  Originally  it  began  on  the  feast  of  Epiphany  or 
Twelfth  Day  —  January  6  —  and  ended  on  Shrove  or  Pancake  Tuesday 
(Lent).  During  the  middle  ages,  banquets  of  rieh  meats  and  drinking 
bouts  were  the  chief  attractions.  Carnivals  are  widely  held  in  Ger¬ 
many,  in  the  eities  of  the  Rhine  provinees;  in  the  south  of  France, 
and  throughout  Italy.  In  these  sections  and  also  in  Venice  the  Car¬ 
nival  is  still  a  popular  festival.  At  Rome,  on  the  oceasion  of  a  carni¬ 
val,  the  streets  are  en  fete^  and  much  fun  and  entertaining  frolie  mark 
the  eelebration. 


✓ 


Century  (Latin,  centiirid). —  A  term,  in  our  day,  mostly  used  to 
denote  a  period  of  100  years.  In  Roman  times,  the  term  indicated  a 
civil  division  of  the  people  formed  for  the  purpose  of  voting;  it  also 
meant  a  company  of  100  men  {centtnn^  a  hundred)  in  the  Roman  army, 
or  a  division  consisting  originally  of  a  hundred.  As  used  to  denote  a 
period  of  time  (a  100  years),  we  have  come  to  reckon  a  century 
(such,  for  instance,  as  the  19th  century),  as  beginning  with  Jan.  i, 
1801,  and  ending  Dec.  31,  1900.  In  common  speech,  we  also  apply  the 
period  denoting  a  century  to  cover  a  100  3^ears  of  literature,  of  art, 
of  music,  of  missionary  work,  as  well  as  of  history,  polities,  the  Chris¬ 
tian  centuries,  in  contrast  with  the  earlier  era  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 
The  latter  we  indicate  by  the  letters  B.  C.  (before  Christ)  or  A.  D. 
(Anno  Domini)  in  the  year  of  our  Lord.  The  term  is  known  also  in 
botany,  in  the  case  of  the  Agave  or  Century  plant,  formerly  supposed 
to  flower  but  once  in  a  100  years. 

Chinese  Year. —  The  year  is  lunar,  each  month  coming  in  with 
the  new  moon.  The  difference  between  the  lunar  and  solar  year  is 
made  up  by  adding  one  month  in  every  thirty.  The  greatest  feast  is 
New  Year’s  Day,  which  may  fall  on  any  day  between  January  21 
and  February  28.  The  festival  lasts  three  or  four  days.  Visits  are 
exchanged,  all  debts  paid  up,  if  possible.  If  a  Chinaman  is  insolvent 
he  appears  before  his  ereditors  upon  the  New  Year’s  Day  and  states 
the  faet,  when  all  debts  are  discharged.  The  fifth  day  of  the  fifth 
month  is  the  dragon  festival.  The  fifteenth  da)^  of  the  eighth  month 
is  a  moon  festival,  corresponding  somewhat  to  the  harvest  moon. 
The  Winter  solstice,  or  December  21,  is  an  official  holiday  when  the 
Emperor  is  worshiped.  The  birthday  of  the  Emperor  is  a  compul¬ 
sory  holiday  of  rejoicing,  while  that  of  the  Dowager  Empress  is  an 
official  holiday  only. 


94 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Christmas  (Dec.  25). —  The  day  on  which  the  nativity  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  observed.  The  real  date  of  our  Lord’s  birth  is  not  known ; 
by  the  Eastern  Church,  Jan.  6  was  held  in  commemoration  as  that 
both  of  the  birth  and  the  baptism^of  Christ;  but  later  on  (in  the  4th 
century),  the  date  adopted  was  that  which  we  now  commemorate,  the 
observance  being  ascribed  first  to  Julius,  bishop  of  Rome.  The  fes¬ 
tival  of  Christmas  was  celebrated  with  great  feasts  alike  by  Romans, 
Celts,  and  Germans,  Yule-tide  being  a  season  of  rejoicing.  The 
heathen  elements  of  the  festival  were  gradually  dropped,  as  the  Church 
sought  to  introduce,  in  lieu  of  them,  its  liturgy  and  the  ritual  adopted 
by  both  the  Roman  and  Anglican  (Protestant)  Episcopal  churches. 
To  add  to  the  church  ritual  devised  for ''the  season  came  the  Christ¬ 
mas  carols  and  manger  songs,  and  such  customs  as  are  now  con¬ 
nected  with  the  day  socially,  with  its  family  reunions,  feasts,  and 
gifts.  The  Christmas  tree,  with  its  lights,  hanging  toys,  and  Santa 
Claus  visits,  as  a'  festival  of  St.  Nicholas  dear  to  childhood’s  days,  are 
additional  features  of  the  season  which  almost  all  the  world  now  com¬ 
memorates,  to  which  has  to  be  added  ^Ghe  Christmas-box^^  —  the 
money^gifts  distributed  among  children,  servants,  employees,  and  the 
poor  and  needy  on  the  glad  return  of  the  day. 

Clock.  —  A  machine  for  measuring  and  marking  the  flight  of  time. 
In  early  times,  the  sun-dial  was  the  apparatus  in  common  use  for 
registering  the  progress  of  the  sun  through  the  sky  by  a  shadow  cast 
upon  a  graduated  plate.  This,  however,  was  useless  at  night  and  on 
cloudy  days.  The  hour-glass  was  another  early  contrivance.  With 
the  invention  of  the  escapement  and  the  regulation  of  its  action  by 
means  of  a  pendulum,  the  construction  of  clocks  may  be  said  to  begin. 
We  owe  the  idea  of  a  pendulum  clock  to  Huyghens,  a  Dutch  physi¬ 
cist,  who  set  the  escapement  or  crown  wheel  horizontal,  whith  had 
hitherto  been  set  vertical,  and  attached  the  pallets  to  the  horizontal 
rod  from  which  the  pendulum  hung.  In  large-sized  clocks,  the  mov¬ 
ing  power  is  a  raised  weight;  in  chronometers,  watches,  and  small 
clocks,  the  power  is  derived  from  a  coiled,  elastic,  highly  tempered 
spring.  In  the  former,  the  weight  in  descending,  and  in  the  latter, 
the  spring  in  uncoiling,  sets  a  cylinder  in  rotation,  and  this  rotary 
motion  is  transmitted  through  wheels  and  pinions  to  the  hands  on 
the  dial -plate,  which  by  their  motion  indicate  the  hours,  minutes,  and 
seconds.  In  both  cases,  the  motive  power  must  be  properly  regulated 
so  as  to  indicate  accurate  time.  When  the  nioving  power  is  a  main¬ 
spring  (contained  in  a  cylindrical  box)  the  motion  is  regulated  by  the 
escapement  and  balance-wheel,  and  for  greater  accuracy  by  a  contriv¬ 
ance  known  as  the  fusee.  The  varieties  of  clocks,  chronometers,  and 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


95 


watches  are  now  many  and  varied;  the  striking-  clock  is  familiar  to 
everyone,  and  is  fitted  with  a  bell  struck  by  a  hammer  at  certain 
equal  intervals,  generally  an  hour.  Driving  clocks,  electric  clocks, 
and  musical  clocks  are  other  types  and  fashions  of  time-pieces  familiar 
to  us  to-day. 

Corpus  Christi  Day. —  A  festival  of  the  Roman  Church,  in  honor 
ot  the  Consecrated  Host. 

Curfew  (Fr.  cotLvre-feii^  cover  fire). —  The  evening  hour  when, 
according  to  an  old  English  custom,  the  people  were  notified,  by  the 
ringing  of  a  bell,  to  cover  up  their  fires,  extinguish  lights,  and  retire 
for  the  night.  The  practice  is  referred  to  in  many  English  poems, 
in  a  lyric  of  Longfellow’s,  and  especially  in  the  first  line  of  Gray’s 
Elegy  — 

<<The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day.^^ 

William  the  Conquerer,  it  is  said,  introduced  the  practice,  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  assembling  of  people,  under  cover  of  night,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  hatching  rebellion.  It  is,  however,  more  likely  to  have 
originated  as  a  precaution  against  fires,  which  were  more  common 
and  desolating  in  early  times,  when  houses  were  often  flimsy  in 
structure,  and  the  machinery  for  extinguishing  fires  did  not  then 
exist,  in  the  efficient  scale  of  to-day.  The  curfew,  or  evening-bell,  is 
still  rung  in  many  towns  and  villages  of  modern  England. 

Date. —  In  1582  it  was  discovered  that  there  was  a  discrepancy  in 
the  mode  of  reckoning  time  by  the  Old  Style  or  Julian  Calendar  and 
that  this  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  there  was  a  difference  of  1 1 
minutes  between  the  year  as  fixed  by  Julius  Caesar  and  the  solar  year. 
This  had  amounted  to  10  entire  days.  To  correct  this.  Pope  Gregory 
XIII.  ordered  that  the  year  1582  should  consist  of  only  356  days  by 
causing  the  5th  of  Oct.  to  become  15th  of  Oct.  of  the  New  Style  or  Gre¬ 
gorian  Calendar. 

Date-line,  International. —  In  sailing  westward  around  the  world 
the  traveler  is  each  day  a  little  behind  the  sun  in  point  of  time,  so 
that  the  sum  of  these  differences  which  he  has  consumed  each  day 
amounts  to  an  entire  day.  It  is  necessary  that  he  drop  24  hours 
somewhere  that  he  may  overtake  the  sun.  In  traveling  eastward  the 
reverse  is  the  case,  and  he  must  add  a  day  to  make  his  time  accord 
with  the  calendar.  It  has  been  agreed  by  nations  that  the  i8oth 
meridian  is  the  best  place  at  which  to  rectify  the  loss  or  gain.  The 
international  date-line  does  not  follow  the  i8oth  meridian  exactly,  as 
it  varies  slightly  to  accommodate  conditions  which  have  existed  in 
some  of  the  islands  adjacent  to  it.  Thus,  the  Sandwich  Islands  on 


/ 


96  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

one  side  of  the  line  and  the  Society  Islands  on  the  other,  though 
only  a  few  degrees  apart,  observe  different  Sabbaths;  because  the 
missionaries  sailing  to  these  islands  from  opposite  directions  neglected 
to  rectify  their  calendars. 

Decoration  Day. —  The  30th  of  May,  a  national  holiday,  set  apart 
for  decorating  with  flowers  the  graves  of  men  who  served  in  the 
army  or  navy  of  the  U.  S. ,  in  memory  of  their  patriotic  sacriflces  and 
sufferings  and  their  glorious  deeds.  This  beautiful  custom  was  estab¬ 
lished  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
by  the  survivors  of  the  Civil  War.  Its  purpose  was  especially  to 
honor  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Union  soldiers  who  were  killed 
in  battle  or  died  of  disease  during  the  war,  but  the  scope  of  the  cere¬ 
mony  was  naturally  and  properly  enlarged  so  as  to  include  the  graves 
of  soldiers  who  had  served  in  other  wars  and  of  those  who  died 
from  time  to  time.  The  people  of  the  South  testify  to  their  remem¬ 
brance  of  those  who  served  their  cause,  by  strewing  flowers  upon 
the  graves  of  the  Confederate  dead.  The  passions  of  war  have  so 
wholly  disappeared  that  the  resting-places  of  both  Union  and  Confed¬ 
erate  soldiers  are  decorated  at  the  same  time,  by  survivors  of  the 
hostile  armies,  side  by  side.  Many  civic  orders,  such  as  the  Masons, 
Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias,  etc.,  have  adopted  the  custom  and 
each  year  decorate  the  graves  of  members  who  have  died. 

Derby  Day.  —  A  race  for  three-year-olds  held  annually  at  Epsom. 
It  was  instituted  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  in  1780.  The  races  are  held 
on  the  last  Wednesday  in  May.  The  2,000  guineas,  the  St.  Leger,  and 
the  Derby  form  the  triple  crown,  which  has  been  won  by  only  flve 
horses. 

Dies  Ir^e.  —  A  famous  medieval  hymn  on  the  Last  Judgment,  the 
composition,  it  is  believed,  of  Thomas  of  Celano,  a  native  of  Abruzzi, 
and  friend  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  who  died  in  1255.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  has  introduced  part  of  it  into  his  Lay  of  the  Last  MinstreP^ :  — 

On  that  day,  that  day  of  ire, 

Saith  the  King  of  Wisdom’s  sire. 

Earth  shall  melt  with  fervent  fire.^^ 

Easter. —  The  first  Sunday  after  the  full  moon  which  occurs  on 
or  next  after  March  21.  If  the  full  moon  happen  on  a  Sunday, 
Easter  is  the  following  Sunday.  The  festival  commemorates  the 
Resurrection.  The  Anglo-Saxons,  before  their  conversion  to  Christian¬ 
ity  observed  a  festival  of  spring  and  the  beginning  of  the  year, 
which  they  called  the  festival  of  Ostern  or  of  Eastre,  the  goddess  of 
the  morning  of  the  East,  or  of  spring. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


97 


Equinoxes.  —  The  ,two  points  on  the  equator  where  the  sun  in  its 
apparent  course  through  the  heavens  crosses.  The  days  and  nights 
at  these  periods  are  nearly  equal.  The  vernal  of  spring  equinox 
occurs  on  Mar.  20;  and  the  autumnal  equinox  takes  place  Sept.  20. 

February. —  The  second  month  of  our  year,  has  28  days,  except 
in  leap  year,  when  it  has  29.  It  had  among  the  Romans  29  days, 
but  when  the  Senate  decreed  that  the  eighth  month  should  be  called 
August,  in  honor  of  the  Emperor  Augustus,  a  day  was  taken  from 
February  and  added  to  August,  which  had  only  30,  that  it  be  not 
inferior  to  July. 

Fiscal  Year. —  The  financial  year  of  the  treasury  of  a  govern¬ 
ment;  the  period  at  the  end  of  which  all  public  or  government 
accounts  are  made  up  and  balanced.  The  fiscal  year  of  the  U.  S. 
Government  begins  July  i  of  each  year  and  ends  June  30  of  the 
following  year. 

Forefathers’  Day.  —  The  name  given  to  the  anniversary  of  the 
landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  Dec.  21,  1620. 
The  date  by  the  Old  Style  Calendar  is  Dec.  ii.  In  1769,  the  Old 
Colony  Club  was  formed  by  seven  citizens  of  Plymouth  to  celebrate 
^Hhe  landing  of  our  ancestors  in  this  place, but  in  adjusting  the 
date,  to  the  New  Style  or  Gregorian  Calendar,  the  Club  by  mistake 
established  the  anniversary  on  Dec.  22  instead  of  Dec.  21.  New 
England  Societies  have  been  established  in  many  of  the  states  and 
the  celebration  of  Forefathers’  Day  is  becoming  more  general. 

French  Revolution  Year. —  In  the  abolition  of  all  the  reminders 
of  the  past,  the  French  ordained  that  a  new  era  should  begin  with 
the  Autumnal  Equinox,  September  22,  1792.  The  year  was  divided 
into  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each.  Each  month  was  divided 
into  three  decades  of  ten  days  each.  The  months  were  called  (i)  Ven- 
demaire,  or  Vintage  month,  (2)  Prumaire,  ‘or  Foggy  month,  (3) 
Frimaire,  or  Sleety  month,  (4)  Nivose,  or  Snowy  month,  (5)  Pluviose, 
or  Rainy  month,  (6)  Ventose,  or  Windy  month,  (7)  Germinal,  or 
Budding  month,  (8)  Floreal,  or  Flowering  month,  (9)  Prarial,  or 
Pasture  month,  (10)  Messidor,  or  Harvest  month,  (ii)  Thermidor, 
or  Hot  month,  (12)  Fructidor,  or  Fruit  month.  To  make  up  the 
365  days,  five  days  were  added  at  the  end  of  September.  These 
were:  Primidi,  dedicated  to  Virtue;  Duodi,  to  Genius;  Tridi,  to 
Labor;  Quartidi,  to  Opinion;  Quintidi,  to  Reward.  On  the  leap  year 
a  sixth  day  or  Olympic,  called  the  day  of  the  Revolution,  was  added. 
Every  tenth  day  was  a  special  fete  dedicated  to  some  moral  attribute 
or  trait  of  character.  The  Gregorian  Calendar  was  restored  on 
January  i,  1806. 

13—7 


98 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Good  Friday. —  The  Friday  before  Easter;  a  fast  of  the  church  in 
commemoration  of  the  Crucifixion. 

Gregorian  Calendar. — Pope  Gregory  XIII.,  in  1852,  issued  a  bull 
correcting  the  error  of  the  Julian  Calendar.  It  was  adopted  by  Eng¬ 
land  in  1752.  All  dates  previous  to  that  period  are  written  Old 
Style,  and  all  afterward  New  Style.  The  Julian  Calendar  considered 
the  year  to  consist  of  365J  days.  Its  exact  length  was  found  to  be 
365  days,  5  hours,  49  minutes  and  12  seconds.  Up  to  the  time  of 
its*  adoption  in  England  this  error  of  26  seconds  every  year  had 
amounted  to  eleven  days.  Russia  has  not  yet  adopted  the  Gregorian 
method,  consequently  the  year  is  now  12  days  behind  the  Gregorian 
method.  It  is  also  provided  that  a  leap  year  of  366  days  shall  be 
such  years  as  are  divisible  by  4  and  also  by  400  but  not  by  100. 

HOLIDAYS  IN  THE  VARIOUS  STATES,  LEGAL.— 

Jan.  I.  New  Year’s  Day:  In  all  the  states  (including  the  District 
of  Columbia)  except  Massachusetts,  Mississippi,  and  New  Hampshire. 

Jan.  8.  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans:  In  Louisi¬ 
ana. 

Jan.  19.  Lee’s  Birthday:  In  Florida,  Georgia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  and  Virginia. 

Feb.  12.  Lincoln’s  Birthday:  In  Connecticut,  Illinois,  Minnesota, 
New  Jersey,  New  York,  North  Dakota,  Pennsylvania,  and  Washing¬ 
ton  (state). 

Feb.  (Third  Tuesday).  Spring  Election  Day:  In  Pennsylvania. 

Feb.  22.  Washington’s  Birthday:  In  all  the  states  (including  the 
District  of  Columbia),  except  Mississippi. 

Feb.  27.  Mardi  Gras:  In  Alabama  and  the  parish  of  Orleans, 
Louisiana. 

Mar.  2.  Anniversary  of  Texan  Independence:  In  Texas. 

Arril  4.  State  Election  Day:  In  Rhode  Island. 

April  6.  Confederate  Memorial  Day:  In  Louisiana. 

April  13.  Good  Friday:  In  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  Tennessee. 

April  19.  Patriots’  Day:  In  Massachusetts. 

April  21.  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  San  Jacinto:  In  Texas. 

April  26.  Confederate  Memorial  Day:  In  Alabama,  Florida,  and 
Georgia. 

May  10.  Confederate  Memorial  Day:  In  North  Carolina  and 
South  Carolina. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


99 


May  (Second  Friday).  Confederate  Day:  In  Tennessee. 

May  20.  Anniversary  of  the  Signing  of  the  Mecklenburg  Dec¬ 
laration  OF  Independence:  In  North  Carolina. 

May  30.  Decoration  Day:  In  all  the  states  and  territories  (and 
District  of  Columbia),  except  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia, 
Idaho,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  New  Mexico,  North  Carolina,  South  Car¬ 
olina,  Texas,  and  Virginia. 

June  3.  Jefferson  Davis’s  Birthday:  In  Florida  and  Georgia. 

July  4.  Independence  Day:  In  all  the  states  and  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

July  24.  Pioneers’  Day:  In  Utah. 

Aug.  2.  Election  Day:  In  North  Carolina  —  for  state  officers, 
legislature,  county  officers,  etc. 

Aug.  16.  Bennington  Battle  Day:  In  Vermont. 

Sept.  3.  Labor  Day:  In  all  the  states  and  territories  (and  Dis¬ 
trict  of  Columbia),  except  Arizona,  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi, 
Nevada,  New  Mexico,  North  Carolina,  North  Dakota,  Oklahoma,  and 
Vermont.  Is  observed  in  Wyoming,  but  is  not  a  legal  holiday. 

Sept.  6.  Labor  Day:  In  North  Carolina. 

Sept.  9.  Admission  Day:  In  California. 

Nov.  I.  All  Saints’  Day:  In  Louisiana. 

Nov.  General  Election  Day:  In  Arizona,  California,  Colorado, 
Idaho,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  Minne¬ 
sota,  Missouri,  Montana,  Nevada,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina, 
South  Dakota,  Tennessee,  Texas,  West  Virginia,  Washington,  Wis¬ 
consin,  and  Wyoming,  in  the  years  when  elections  are  held  in  these 
states.  In  1900,  the  date  was  November  6. 

Nov.  25.  Labor  Day:  In  parish  of  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

Nov.  Thanksgiving  Day  (either  the  fourth  or  last  Thursday  in 
November,  as  the  President  may  determine):  Is  observed  in  all  the 
states,  and  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  though  in  some  states  it  is 
not  a  statutory  holiday. 

Dec.  25.  Christmas  Day:  In  all  the  states  and  in  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

Sundays  and  fast  days  are  legal  holidays  in  all  the  states  which 
designate  them  as  such. 

There  are  no  statutory  holidays  in  Mississippi  and  Nevada,  but  by 
common  consent  the  Fourth  of  July,  Thanksgiving,  and  Christmas  are 
observed  as  holidays  in  Mississippi.  In  Kansas,  Decoration  Day, 


lOO 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Labor  Day,  and  Washington’s  Birthday  are  the  only  legal  holidays 
by  legislative  enactment;  other  legal  holidays  are  so  only  by  com¬ 
mon  consent.  In  New  Mexico,  Decoration  Day,  Labor  Day,  and 
Arbor  Day  are  holidays  when  so  designated  by  the  governor. 

Arbor  Day  is  a  legal  holiday  in  Arizona,  Minnesota,  North 
Dakota,  Wisconsin,  and  Wyoming,  the  day  being  set  by  the  governor; 
in  Texas,  February  22;  in  Nebraska,  April  22;  Montana,  May  8; 
Utah,  April  15;  Rhode  Island,  May  ii;  Florida,  first  Friday  in  Feb¬ 
ruary;  Georgia,  first  Friday  in  December;  Colorado  (school  holiday 
only),  third  Friday  in  April;  Idaho  (school  holiday  only),  first  Friday 
after  May  i. 

Every  Saturday  after  12  o’clock  noon  is  a  legal  holiday  in  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  North  Carolina,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Tennessee, 
Virginia,  and  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  and  in  Newcastle  County, 
Del.,  except  in  St.  George’s  Hundred;  in  Louisiana  and  Missouri  in 
cities  of  100,000  or  more  inhabitants;  in  Ohio  in  cities  of  50,000  or 
more  inhabitants;  and  June  i  to  August  31  in  Denver,  Col.  In  the 
District  of  Columbia  for  all  purposes  respecting  the  presentation  for 
payment  or  acceptance,  or  the  protesting  of  all  commercial  paper 
whatsoever.  In  Connecticut  and  Maine,  banks  close  at  12  noon  on 
Saturdays. 

There  is  no  national  holiday,  not  even  the  Fourth  of  July.  Con¬ 
gress  has  at  various  times  appointed  special  holidays.  In  the  second 
session  of  the  Fifty- third  Congress  it  passed  an  act  making  Labor 
Day  a  public  holiday  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  it  has  recognized 
the  existence  of  certain  days  as  holidays,  for  commercial  purposes, 
but,  with  the  exception  named,  there  is  no  general  statute  on  the 
subject.  The  proclamation  of  the  President  designating  a  day  of 
Thanksgiving  only  makes  it  a  legal  holiday  in  those  states  which 
provide  by  law  for  it. 

HOLIDAYS,  OLD  ENGLISH.— 

These  holidays,  with  their  names,  had  their  origin  in  medieval 
England  when  the  state  religion  was  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  they  are  still  observed  generally  in  some  parts  of  England,  Scot¬ 
land,  and  Ireland. 

Jan.  6.  Twelfth  Day  (or  Twelfth-tide):  Sometimes  called  old 
Christmas  Day,  the  same  as  Epiphany.  The  previous  evening  is 
Twelfth  Night,  with  which  many  social  rites  have  long  been  con¬ 
nected. 

Feb.  2.  Candlemas:  Festival  of  the  Purification  of  the  Virgin. 
Consecration  of  the  lighted  candles  to  be  used  in  the  church  during 
the  year. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


loi 


Feb.  14.  Old  Candlemas:  St.  Valentine’s  Day. 

Mar.  25.  Lady  Day:  Annunciation  of  the  Virgin.  April  6  is 
old  Lady  Day. 

June  24.  Midsummer  Day:  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  John  the 
Baptist.  July  7  is  old  Midsummer  Day. 

July  15.  St,  Swithin’s  Day:  There  was  an  old  superstition  that 
if  rain  fell  on  this  day  it  would  continue  forty  days. 

Aug.  I.  Lammas  Day:  Originally  in  England  the  festival  of  the 
wheat  harvest.  In  the  church,  the  festival  of  St.  Peter’s  miraculous 
deliverance  from  prison.  Old  Lammas  Day  is  August  13. 

Sept.  29.  Michaelmas:  Feast  of  St.  Michael,  the  Archangel.  Old 
Michaelmas  is  October  ii. 

Nov.  I.  Allhallowmas:  All  Hallows,  or  All  Saints’  Day.  The 
previous  evening  is  All  Halloween,  observed  by  home  gatherings  and 
old-time  -festive  rites. 

Nov.  2.  All  Souls’  Day:  Day  of  prayer  for  the  souls  of  the 
dead. 

Nov.  II.  Martinmas:  Feast  of  St.  Martin.  Old  Martinmas  is 
November  23. 

Dec.  28.  Childermas:  Holy  Innocents’  Day. 

Lady  Day,  Midsummer  Day,  Michaelmas,  and  Christmas  are 
quarter  (rent)  days  in  England,  and  Whitsunday,  Martinmas,  Candle¬ 
mas,  and  Lammas  Day  in  Scotland. 

Shrove  Tuesday,  the  day  before  Ash  Wednesday,  and  Maundy 
Thursday,  the  day  before  Good  Friday,  are  observed  by  the  church. 
Mothering  Sunday  is  Mid-Lent  Sunday,  in  which  the  old  rural 
custom  obtains  of  visiting  one’s  parents  and  making  them  presents. 


Inauguration  Day. —  The  selection  of  Mar.  4,  as  the  day  for  the 
inauguration  of  the  President  and  Vice-president  of  the  U.  S.,  dates 
back  to  1788.  After  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution  by  the  sev¬ 
eral  states,  the  Congress  of  the  old  Confederation  fixed  upon  the  first 
Wednesday  in  Jan.,  1789,  for  the  choice  of  electors,  the  first  Wednes¬ 
day  in  Feb.  for  the  popular  voting  by  the  electors,  and  the  first 
Wednesday  in  Mar.,  for  the  inauguration  of  the  President.  The  latter 
day  fell  on  the  4th  in  that  year,  and  the  twelfth  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  settled  upon  this  as  the  legal  date.  Washington’s  first 
inauguration  was,  however,  on  April  30,  1789.  Measures  have  been 
frequently  introduced,  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  for  an  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  changing  Inauguration  Day  to  a  later  date  in  the 
year. 


» 


102 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


■January. —  The  first  month  of  the  year,  was  held  sacred  to  the 
Roman  god  Janus.  This  month  and  February  were  added  to  the  cal¬ 
endar  by  Numa. 

Jewish  Calendar. — The  Jewish  Calendar  year  is  both  solar  and 
lunar.  It  laps  over  the  Christian  year.  Thus  1904  is  a  part  of  the 
Jewish  year  5664  and  of  5665.  The  year  may  consist  of  353,  354,  355, 
383,  384,  or  385  days.  A  cycle  is  composed  of  19  years,  of  which  the 
third,  sixth,  eighth,  eleventh,  fourteenth,  seventeenth,  and  nineteenth 
are  leap  years.  When  a  month  is  added  it  is  called  Ve-Adar  and 
always  consists  of  thirty  days.  The  Jewish  months  are  i.  Tishri,  2. 
Heshvan,  3.  Kislev,  4.  Tebeth,  5.  Sebat,  6.  Adar,  7.  Nisan,  8.  Igar, 
9.  Sivan,  10.  Tamuz,  ii.  Ab,  12.  Elul.  The  rules  for  the  falling  of 
feasts  and  fasts  are  very  strict  and  these  days  must  never  conflict,  so 
that  there  are  fourteen  different  kinds  of  years  to  keep  count  of. 
The  observation  of  each  new  moon  is  called  Rosh-Chodesh.  The  fast 
of  Purim  commemorates  the  deliverance  of  the  Jews  by  Esther  from 
the  massacre  planned  by  Haman.  The  feast  of  Ab.  is  in  commemo¬ 
ration  of  the  Destruction  of  the  Temple.  The  new  year  is  Rosh- 
Hashonah.  Yom  Kippur  is  the  Feast  of  Expiation. 

Julian  Calendar.  —  The  solar  Calendar  was  adjusted  by  Julius 
Csesar  so  that  the  year  was  composed  of  365^  days.  As  this  made 
the  year  too  long  by  a  few  minutes  the  re-adjustment  was  made  by 
the  Gregorian  Calendar. 

July.  —  The  seventh  month  of  the  year,  consisting  of  thirty-one 
days.  It  was  named  after  Julius  Caesar,  by  whom  it  was  introduced 
into  the  calendar. 

Labor  Day. — The  first  Monday  in  September  has  been  made  a 
holiday  in  thirty-six  states,  and  by  the  U.  S.  in  the  District  of  Colum¬ 
bia.  ,  It  was  observed  first  in  Col.  in  1887.  On  that  day  meetings  for 
the  discussion  of  labor  questions  are  held  and  there  are  usually  pa¬ 
rades,  picnics,  and  dances. 

March  was  the  first  month  of  the  Roman  year  and  was  so  con¬ 
sidered  in  England  until  the  change  in  the  calendar  in  1752. 

Mohammedan  Year. —  The  Mohammedan  era  begins  with  July 
16,  622  A.  D.,  which  is  called  the  Hegira  or  flight  of  Mohammed  from 
Mecca  to  Medina.  The  year  is  absolutely  lunar.  The  new  moon  is 
always  the  first  of  the  month.  Thirty  years  form  a  cycle,  of  which 
the  second,  fifth,  seventh,  tenth,  thirteenth,  sixteenth,  eighteenth, 
twenty-third,  twenty-fourth,  twenty-sixth,  and  twenty-eighth  are  leap 
years  of  355  days,  while  the  common  year  has  only  354.  The  Moham¬ 
medan  Sabbath  is  Friday.  The  three  great  holidays  of  the  year  are: 
(i)  The  whole  of  the  month  of  Ramadan  or  the  ninth  month  of  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


103 


year,  when  eating,  drinking,  or  enjoyment  is  abstained  from  during  the 
hours  of  sunlight.  It  closes  with  the  great  feast  of  Bairam.  Seventy 
days  later  the  little  Bairam  is  celebrated  for  four  days.  The  twelve 
months  of  the  year  are:  Moharrem,  Safer,  Rebi  ul-Evel,  Rebi  ul- 
Ahir,  Djemasi  ul-Evel,  Djemase  ul-Aher,  Redsheb,  Shaban,  Ramadan, 
Sheval,  Zilhidje.  Each  month  has  twenty-nine  days,  except  in  leap 
year,  when  one  day  is  added  to  the  last  month. 

November  (Latin,  novem^  nine). —  In  ancient  times  it  was  the  ninth 
month;  but  became  the  eleventh,  as  now,  upon  the  addition  in  713 
B.  C.,  of  January  and  February. 

October. —  The  tenth  month  of  the  year;  has  31  days.  It  was  the 
eighth  month  of  the  so-called  year  of  Romulus,  but  became  the  tenth 
when  Numa  changed  the  commencement  of  the  year  to  the  first  of 
January. 

Old  Style. —  Under  Pope  Gregory,  the  calendar  was  altered  in 
order  to  rectify  certain  Errors;  in  the  new  calendar,  10  days  were 
omitted,  and  Oct.  5,  1582,  became  Oct.  15.  The  new  style  was  adopted 
by  most  of  the  leading  European  countries  within  a  few  years  fol¬ 
lowing;  Great  Britain,  however,  not  making  the  change  until  1752. 
Russia,  Greece,  and  some  of  the  Eastern  countries,  retain  the  old  style. 

Olympic  Games,  The. —  They  were  the  greatest  of  the  four  Pan- 
hellenic  festivals  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  served  as  a  division  of 
time  into  Olympiads.  They  were  celebrated  at  intervals  of  four  years. 

PANICS,  THE  GREAT  FINANCIAL.— 

1814,  England,  240  banks  suspended. 

1824,  Manchester,  failures,  2,000,000  sterling  . 

1831,  Calcutta,  failures,  $15, 000, 000. 

1837,  United  States,  Wild  Cat  crisis,  all  banks  closed. 

1839,  Bank  of  England  saved  by  Bank  of  France.  Severe  also  in 
France  where  93  companies  failed  for  $6,000,000. 

1844,  England.  State  loans  to  merchants.  Bank  of  England  re¬ 
formed. 

1847,  England,  failures,  $20,000,000,  discount  13  per  cent. 

1857,  United  States,  7,200  houses  failed  for  $111,000,000. 

i860,  London,  Overend-Gurney  crisis,  failures  exceeded  $100,000,000. 

1869,  Black  Friday  in  New  York  (Wall  Street),  September  24.' 

Santa  Claus,  or  Klaus  (an  abbreviated  form  of  the  Dutch  Saint 
Nikolas),  is  the  Dutch  name  of  Saint  Nicholas,  patron  saint  of  chil¬ 
dren^  and  dispenser  of  gifts  on  Christmas  eve.  St.  Nicholas  lived  about 
the  year  300  A.  D.  He  was  a  bishop  of  Asia  Minor,  and  is  a  promi¬ 
nent  saint  in  the  Greek  church,  his  festival  being  celebrated  Dec.  6. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


104' 


He  has  been  adopted  as  the  patron  saint  of  Russia,  and  is  also 
regarded  as  the  patron  saint  of  seafaring  men,  thieves,  virgins,  and 
children.  An  incident  in  his  life  (so  a  legend  states),  created  the 
custom  of  placing  gifts  in  the  stockings  of  children  on  the  eve  of  St. 
Nicholas’s  day,  and  attributing  the  gifts  to  Santa  Claus.  The  custom 
has  in  most  countries  been  transferred  to  Christmas. 

Ship’s  Time-Bells  and  Watches. —  On  board  ship,  each  half  hour 
is  told  by  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  one  to  eight  times,  according  to  the 
time  of  day,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  table:  — 


) 


6 


'O 


bi) 

a 

'5 

u 

o 


a 

o 

o 

o 

<L» 

o 

b. 


f8  bells 

1  bell 

2  bells 

3  “ 

4  “ 

5  “ 

6  “ 

7  “ 

8  “ 

1  bell 

2  bells 

3  “ 

4  “ 

5  “ 

6  “ 

7  “ 

8  “ 

1  bell 

2  bells 

3  “ 

4  “ 

5  “ 

6  “ 

7  “ 

8  “ 


A.M. 

12.0 

12.30 
I.O 

1.30 
2.0 

2.30 
3-0 

3-30 

4.0 

430 

50 

5-30 

6.0 

6.30 
7.0 
7-30 
8.0 

8.30 
9.0 

9-30 

lO.O 

10.30 
II. o 

11.30 
Noon. 


Pi 

o 

o 

PI 

Vh 

(LI 


b£ 

o 

TJ  ■{ 


be 


10 


fs 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 
8 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 


bells 

bell 

bells 


bell 

bells 


bell 

bells 


bell 

bells 


P.M. 

Noon. 

12.30 

I.O 

1.30 
2.0 

2.30 
3-0 

3- 30 
4.0 

4- 30 

5- 0 

5-30 

6.0 

6.30 
7.0 
7- 30 
8.0 

8.30 
9.0 
9-30 

lO.O 

10.30 
II. o 

11.30 
Midt. 


The  sailor’s  day  is  divided  into  watches,  of  which  there  are  seven. 
Five  have  four  hours  in  each  and  two  Consist  of  two  hours.  These 


two  are  called  dog  watches.  The  reason  is  to  prevent  the  same 
men  being  on  duty  at  the  same  time  each  day.  The  various  watches 
and  the  times  of  each  are  indicated  above. 


Swithin’s  Day,  St. —  July  15;  in  honor  of  St.  Swithin  who  lived  in 
England  in  the  9th  century. 


Time  Difference  between  the  City  of  New  York  and  the  Principal  Foreign  Cities 


H.  M. 

Antwerp .  5  13.5 

Berlin  .  5  49-5 

Bremen .  5  31.0 

Brussels  .  5  13.4 

Buenos  Ayres _  i  2.4 

Calcutta .  10  49.2 

Constantinople  . .  6  51.9 


LATER  THAN  NEW  YORK 
H.  M. 


Dublin  .  4  30.5 

Edinburgh .  4  43-2 

Geneva .  5  20.5 

Hamburg .  5  35.8 

Liverpool .  4  43.6 

London .  4  55.9 

Madrid .  4  41. i  ' 


H.  M. 


Paris  .  5  5.2 

Rio  de  Janeiro. .  2  3.2 

Rome .  5  45.8 

St.  Petersburg..  657.1 

Valparaiso .  o  9.3 

Vienna .  6  1.2 

Halifax .  041.5 


EARLIER  THAN  NEW 


YORK 

H.  M. 

Havana .  o  33.5 

Hong-Kong .  ii  27.4 

Melbourne .  924.2 

Mexico,  City  of..  140.5 

Panama .  o  22.2 

Yokohama .  9  45-.S 


Twentieth  Century. —  Some  minds  are  still  puzzled  to  account  for 
the  present  century  beginning  with  Jan.  i,  1901,  instead  of  Jan.  i, 
1900,  as  if  the  19th  century  closed  (which  it  did  not)  at  midnight  on 
Dec.  31,  1899.  The  matter  will  be  clear  to  such  if  they  will  reflect 
that  the  first  century  began  with  the  first  day  of  the  year  i,  and 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


105 

ended  with  the  last  day  of  the  year  100.  It  conld  not  close  with  the 
last  day  of  the  year  99,  for  100,  not  99,  years  make  a  century. 

Valentine’s  Day,  Saint.  —  The  14th  of  Feb.  The  feast  day  of 
vSt.'  Valentinus,  a  Christian  martyr,  who  was  executed  in  Rome  270 
A.  D.  The  custom  of  sending  love  messages  or  valentines  on  this  day 
has  no  direct  connection-  with  the  feast  of  the  saint,  but  is  of  very 
ancient  origin.  The  15th  of  Feb.  was  especially  observed  by  the  Ro¬ 
mans  during  the  celebration  of  the  Lupercalia,  which  covered  a  period 
during  the  middle  of  the  month. 

Wedding  Anniversaries  and  Their  Appropriate  Gifts. —  The  so¬ 
ciety  titles  of  wedding  anniversaries  are:  ist,  cotton;  2d,  paper;  3d, 
leather;  5th,  wooden;  7th,  woolen;  loth,  tin;  12th,  silk  and  fine  linen; 
15th,  crystal;  20th,  china;  25th,  silver;  30th,  pearl;  40th,  ruby;  50th, 
golden;  60th,  diamond. 

Calligraphy. —  A  term  derived  from  the  Greek,  signifying  beauti¬ 
ful  writing,  and  which  to-day  we  apply  to  fine  and  elegant  penman¬ 
ship.  Calligraphists  was  the  appellation  given  to  the'  monks  and 
learned  scribes  who  before  the  invention  of  printing  copied  rare  man¬ 
uscripts  and  elaborately  embellished  them.  This  work  was  done 
largely  by  monks  and  schoolmen  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  many 
specimens  of  their  art  in  manuscripts  have  come  down  to  us.  In 
these  MSS.  the  color  work  is  of  a  rich  order,  especially  in  the  initial 
letters,  which  are  done  in  vermilion  and  gold,  as  well  as  in  the  border 
decorations  and  other  illuminated  parts.  In  modern  penmanship,  the 
attraction  is  rather  in  the  fine  scroll  work  and  other  ornamental  de¬ 
vices  that  embellish  the  page. 

Call  Loans. —  Money  loaned  subject  to  the  call  of  the  lender. 

Capitals,  Rules  for  the  Use  of.  —  The  improper  use  of  capitals 
or  their  omission,  in  a  business  or  social  letter,  is  a  common  fault 
in  composition  and  should  be  guarded  against.  Sometimes  more 
capitals  are  used  than  is  necessary.  The  great  number  of  words 
begin  with  small  letters.  Where  capitals  are  to  be  used  will  be  seen 
from  perusal  of  the  following  rules:  — 

All  proper  names  (names  of  persons,  places,  and  the  principal 
words  in  the  titles  of  books)  should  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

Every  word  that  denotes  the  Deity  should  begin  with  a  capital, 
and  all  words  denoting  religious  denominations,  should  begin  with 
capitals. 

The  first  word  of  every  sentence  and  the  first  word  of  every  line 
of  poetry  should  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

The  months  of  the  year  and  the  days  of  the  week  all  begin  with 
capitals. 


I 


Io6  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

The  words  East,  West,  North,  and  South,  and  their  compounds 
and  abbreviations,  such  as  So.,  No.,  Southeast,  usually  begin  with 
capitals,  especially  where  they  specifically  denote  a  section  of  the 
country,  as  So.  or  South  Dakota,  No.  or  North  Carolina. 

The  pronoun  I  and  the  interjection  O  are  always  capitals. 

Letters  standing  for  words  (in  abbreviated  form)  are  generally 
written  as  capitals,  as  A.  D.  (Anno  Domini)^  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
U.  S.  (United  States),  W.  T.  (Washington  Ter.). 

All  adjectives  formed  from  proper  names  should  begin  with  capitals, 
as  American,  English,  Germanic,  Dutch,  Spanish,  Russian;  also  all 
adjectives  denoting  a  sect  (religious  body),  or  a  religion  —  as  Puritan, 
Catholic,  Methodist,  Mahommedan,  Buddhist,  Congregationalist,  etc. 

All  proper  nouns,  and  titles  of  office,  honor,  and  respect,  should 
begin  with  capitals,  as  His  Excellency,  The  Honorable,  His  Honor 
the  Mayor,  The  President  of  France,  The  Emperor  of  Germany, 
John,  Robert,  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  United  States  Army,  Navy, 
Supreme  Court,  Governor,  Sir,  Sire,  Your  Grace,  Most  Worshipful, 
Madame,  Your  Royal  Highness,  His  Eminence  the  Cardinal,  etc. 

Words  that  denote  the  leading  subjects  of  chapters,  articles,  and 
paragraphs,  also  words  denoting  great  events,  eras  of  history,  noted 
written  documents  and  instruments,  and  extraordinary  physical 
phenomena,  should  begin  with  capitals. 

Common  nouns  where  personified,  as  War,  Peace,  Faith,  are 
usually  capitalized;  also  all  emphatic  and  prominent  words  in  the 
titles  of  books  and  headings  of  chapters. 

Charter.  —  The  name  applied  to  a  grant  of  land  or  of  special 
privileges,  made  by  a  government  or  ruler  to  a  company  —  a  body  of 
men,  or  an  individual  for  a  term  of  years.  In  American  law,  a 
charter  is  a  written  grant  from  the  sovereign  power  conferring  rights 
or  privileges  upon  a  municipality  or  other  corporation.  The  term  is 
generally  applied  to  the  letters  patent  or  articles  of  association  sanc¬ 
tioned  by  statute  creating  a  corporation  as  a  city,  college,  stock  com¬ 
pany,  benevolent  society,  or  social  club.  In  the  early  history  of 
America,  European  rulers,  claiming  sovereignty  by  right  of  discovery, 
issued  charters  granting  land  for  colonization,  such  as  the  charters  of 
the  Virginia  Company,  Plymouth,  Massachusetts  Ba}^,  etc. 

Chart.er  Party.  —  A  written  agreement  between  the  owner,  master, 
or  agent  of  a  vessel  and  the  person  who  hires  or  freights  it. 

Cipher. —  In  arithmetic,  the  character  o,  standing  by  itself,  ex¬ 
presses  nothing,  but  when  placed  to  the  right  of  a  number,  say  25, 
increases  its  value  ten  fold.  It  is  now  loosely  applied,  also,  to  any  of 
the  nine  figures.  Metaphorically,  its  primary  meaning  (a  cipher) 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


107 


denotes  a  nonentity,  or  nobody.  The  cipher  is  used  also  to  designate 
the  interweaving  of  the  initials  of  a  name,  as  a  monogram,  or  private 
mark;  and  the  term  has,  moreover,  come  to  be  a  name  for  secret 
writing,  in  the  transmission  of  dispatches,  the  reading  of  which  is 
known  only  to  the  initiated. 

Cipher  Code. —  A  secret  or  disguised  manner  of  writing.  Its  most 
frequent  use  is  to  cheapen  cost  of  cables  and  telegrams,  as  one  word 
stands  for  several,  or  for  a  whole  phrase. 

Clearance. —  A  certificate  from  a  custom-house  giving  permission 
to  a  vessel  to  sail. 

Clearing  House. —  An  institution  organized  by  banking  houses, 
railroad  companies,  persons  or  corporations  that  have  credit  transac¬ 
tions  with  one  another,  to  facilitate  periodical  settlements.  Before  the 
advent  of  the  clearing  house,  accounts  incidental  to  and  resulting  from 
such  transactions  were  adjusted,  in  the  case  of  banks  every  morning; 
in  other  cases  at  least  once  a  week.  This  obliged  each  bank  to  employ 
a  messenger,  who  had  to  visit  every  other  bank  with  which  it  dealt 
and  pay  or  receive  the  difference  between  the  credit  and  debit  sides 
of  the  accounts.  This  system  involved  labor  and  risk,  now  almost 
wholly  eliminated  by  the  clearing  house,  where  all  the  differences  of 
the  institutions  that  are  members  of  it  are  every  day,  quickly,  accu¬ 
rately,  and  conveniently  adjusted.  The  London  clearing  house  is  about 
100  years  old,  and  the  New  York  clearing  house,  which  does  the 
largest  business  of  any  in  the  world,  opened  its  doors  Oct.  ii,  1853. 
About  70.  banks  clear  throtigh  the  latter  and  the  accounts  of  each  are 
settled  daily  between  10  and  ii  A.  M.  The  debtor  banks  must  pay 
to  the  clearing  house  the  amounts  they  owe  in  coin  or  legal-tender 
notes  each  day  by  1*30  P.  M.  and  the  creditor  banks  at  once  receive 
the  amounts  due  them  from  other  banks  or  certificates  of  credit  for 
like  amounts.  The  banks  that  are  in  the  clearing  house  may  avert 
financial  crises  by  pooling  their  reserves  and  accepting  certificates 
instead  of  cash.  This  was  done  early  in  the  Civil  War,  to  enable  the 
Government  to  carry  on  its  operations,  and  the  same  device  was 
employed  to  check  the  panics  of  1873,  1884,  1890,  and  1891.  Clearing 
houses  are  now  to  be  found  in  all  the  large  cities  of  the  U.  S.,  and 
are  used  quite  as  freely  by  commercial  concerns  in  general  lines  of 
business  as  by  strictly  financial  institutions. 


THE  GIFTS  OF  A  SUCCESSFUL  COLLECTOR 


The  business  of  making  collections  has  a  great  many  disadvantages, 
and  is  probably  the  least  attractive  of  the  vocations  open  to  young 
men.  It  has  to  do  with  the  unpleasant  side  of  life.  The  collector 
is  met  with  frowns  and  his  presence  is  never  congenial,  and  yet,  in  spite 
of  all  its  drawbacks,  it  is  a  good  field  for  the  development  of  self-control, 
persistence,  and  the  ability  to  judge  human  nature.  More  than  this,  it 
is  a  splendid  school  for  the  development  of  good  nature.  To  be  a  success¬ 
ful  collector,  one  must  be  thoroughly  good  natured.  Almost  every  human 
being  who  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity,  has  had  experience  with 
collectors.  The  man  who  has  always  had  enough  money  to  pay  his  bills 
without  an  effort,  need  not  congratulate  himself  upon  that  fact,  because 
there  is  a  pleasure  derived  from  exertion  and  self-denial  in  order  to  pay 
one’s  debts  that  elevates  and  broadens  the  character  as  few  other  things 
do.  The  average  man,  however,  has  more  or  less  experience  with  col¬ 
lectors  all  through  life,  and  the  successes  in  this  line  of  business,  can 
be  distinguished  instantly  from  the  failures. 

The  successful  collector  will  greet  the  debtor  pleasantly,  and  in  a 
respectful,  courteous  manner,  ask  for  the.  payment  of  his  claim,  without 
an  apology  and  without  any  insolence  in  his  manner.  If  he  understands 
his  business,  he  can  tell  instinctively  whether  the  person  he  is  dealing 
with  is  making  an  honest  effort  to  pay  his  obligations  or  not  and  he 
will  govern  himself  accordingly.  If  an  appointment  is  made,  he  will 
keep  that  appointment,  and  if  the  debtor  fails  to  make  good  his  promise, 
the  latter  will  feel  under  obligation  to  the  collector,  and  if  the  col¬ 
lector  has  tact  enough  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  and  make 
another  appointment,  he  will  probably  succeed  in  getting  more  than 
could  be  gotten  under  any  other  circumstances. 

Persistence  should  be  the  guiding  principle  of  a  collector’s  life,  for 
there  are  many  people  who  are  like  the  unjust  judge  of  old,  who 
neither  fear  God  nor  regard  man,  but  who  cannot  withstand  the  om¬ 
nipresent,  courteous,  and  respectful  collector.  While  the  business  of 
collecting  should  not  be  chosen  as  a  life-work,  no  young  man  should 
hesitate  to  accept  a  position  which  will  enable  him  to  become  a  first- 
class  collector;  for,  in  so  doing,  he  will  come  in  contact  with  all  kinds 
of  people,  and  will  be  compelled  to  acquire  those  qualities  which  will 
make  him  strong  and  capable. 


I 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


109 


A  young  lawyer  often  finds  the  making  of  collections  a  stepping- 
stone  to  a  general  practice.  If  his  client  be  a  merchant,  and  his  work 
prove  satisfactory,  the  chances  are  excellent  that  he  will  be  intrusted 
with  other  legal  work,  including  the  making  of  investments.  In  the 
course  of  time,  he  is  very  likely  to  build  up  a  practice  which  is  compara¬ 
tively  free  from  litigated  business,  but  which  includes  the  far  more  lucra¬ 
tive  branch  of  financing  his  clients  and  keeping  them  out  of  litigation. 

Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  volume  of  business  in  the  United 
States  is  done  on  credit.  A  business  man  does  not  usually  possess  or 
employ  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  capital  which  his  annual  transac¬ 
tions  indicate.  He  must  turn  over  his  capital  several  times  a  year  in 
order  to  reach  the  larger  volume  of  trade;  and  to  enable  him  to  do 
this  his  collections  must  be  sharply  made. 

Of  course,  this  is  the  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  large  mercan¬ 
tile  and  collection  agencies,  which  act  for  the  business  world  as  in¬ 
dividual  credit  men  and  collectors  do  for  single  firms.  Aside  from 
failures,  these  great  agencies  encounter  comparatively  little  dishonesty 
or  debt  evasion.  Business  honor  makes  the  path  of  the  trained  col¬ 
lector  far  easier  in  commerce  and  trade  than  he  finds  it  in  private  life/' 
The  bonding  companies  give  another  indication  of  the  accuracy  of 
business  life.  They  report  that  only  about  three  persons  in  every 
thousand  among  their  customers  are  dishonest. 


Commission. —  A  sum  allowed  to  a  broker,  agent,  or  commission 
merchant  for  the  transaction  of  business.  It  is  usually  based  upon  a 

fixed  percentage  of  the  sum  dealt  with. 

1 

Common  Stock. —  The  ordinary  shares  of  stock  in  an  enterprise  as 
distinguished  from  preferred  or  founder’s  stock. 

Consignee. —  The  person  to  whom  goods  are  delivered  or  trans¬ 
mitted. 

Consignment. —  The  goods  sent  or  transmitted  to  an  agent  or  con¬ 
signee. 

Consignor.  —  The  person  who  delivers  or  transmits  goods  to  an 
agent  or  broker. 

Consols. —  English  three  per  cent,  annuities  issued  at  various  times 
and  at  last  consolidated  into  one  stock. 

Contraband  Goods  are  such  as  are  prohibited  to  be  imported  or 
exported  and  are  subject  to  seizure  and  confiscation  if  the  attempt  is 
made. 

Copyright. —  Copyright  is  the  protection  that  the  law  affords  to 
the  product  of  a  person’s  intellectual  genius  and  industry  in  literature 


I  lO 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


and  art.  The  first  U.  S.  copyright  law  was  passed  by  Congress  in 
1790,  when  that  body  enacted  that  copyrights  should  be  granted  to 
authors  and  patents  to  inventors.  Under  this  act  authors  were  given 
the  exclusive  right  to  their  works  for  14  years,  with  the  right  to  re¬ 
new  the  copyright  for  another  term  of  14  years.  In  1831  the  orig¬ 
inal  copyright  was  made  good  for  28  years,  the  period  of  renewal 
remaining  as  before.  In  1870  this  latter  right  was  extended  to  the 
widow  or  children  of  an  author,  who  in  his  own  lifetime,  had  received 
a  copyright  for  an  original  term  of  28  years.  Under  the  international 
copyright  law,  passed  in  1891,  the  privilege  of  American  copyright 
was  extended  to  authors  of  such  countries  as  grant  like  privileges  to 
American  writers.  Many  writers  of  this  country  and  of  Europe  have 
taken  advantage  of  international  copyright. 


CREDIT  AS  CAPITAL 

By  JOHN  GREENE 
Editor  of  Bradstreet' s'*'* 


IT  IS  not  meant  by  the  collocation  of  terms  in  the  title 
given  above  that  credit  is  capital  in  the  strict  economic 
sense,  or  that  it  can  be  said  that  credit  creates  capital. 
Its  real  economic  function  is  to  facilitate  the  transference 
of  capital,  so  as  to  secure  in  its  employment  the  greatest 
degree  of  productivity.  Without  attributing  to  it  any 
occult  or  magic  power,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  the  present 
purpose  to  recognize,  with  Ricardo,  that  credit  supplies  the 
means  of  making  use  of  capital  already  existing,  and  that 
if  it  does  not  create  capital,  it  determines  by  whom  it 
shall  be  employed,  or,  with  Mill,  that  it  permits  an  ad¬ 
dition  to  the  capital  in  employment,  if  not  to  that  in  ex¬ 
istence.  In  that  sense  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that,  as 
has  been  abundantly  testified  by  economists  of  note,  it  aids  materially 
in  the  production  and  distribution  of  Wealth.  It  increases  the  mobility 
of  capital  and  thereby  vastly  augments  the  advantageous  employment 
thereof,  for,  by  the  use  of  credit,  to  quote  McCulloch,  « Capital  finds  its 
way  into  those  channels  in  which  it  has  the  best  chance  of  being  profit¬ 
ably  employed. 

Of  the  importance  of  credit  in  the  sensitive  and  highly-organized  con¬ 
dition  of  industrial  and  commercial  society  in  modern  times,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  speak  at  any  length.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


lit 


mainspring  of  the  economic  movement  of  the  world,  as  we  know  it.  It 
adds  to  the  productive  capital  of  the  community,  by  drawing  into  the 
fund  to  be  employed  for  industrial  purposes,  wealth  which  would  not  be 
so  employed  by  the  holders  of  it.  In  this  way,  it  gives  rise  to  economic 
activity  which  would  not  exist  without  it,  and  enables  industrial  and 
commercial  talent  to  be  utilized,  which  otherwise  might  rust  in  disuse. 
It  is,  in  a  word,  under  modern  conditions,  an  indispensable  cog  in  the 
economic  mechanism  —  an  intermediary  between  capital  and  industrial 
and  commercial  capacity,  without  which  the  fullest  results  of  both  could 
not  be  attained. 

Being,  in  a  sense,  the  permission  to  use  the  capital  of  another,  credit 
involves  the  deferring  of  payment,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  consent  to 
wait  for  reimbursement,  on  the  other.  The  artisan,  who  lacks  the  means 
to  procure  materials  upon  which  to  exercise  his  skill  in  fashioning  arti¬ 
cles  of  utility,  must  obtain  those  means  through  credit.  A  young  man 
having  business  talent,  but  no  endowment  of  wealth,  must  borrow  cap¬ 
ital  from  some  possessor  of  it,  if  he  seeks  to  utilize  that  talent  to  the 
greatest  advantage  to  himself,  unless,  as  an  employee  or  agent,  he  has 
some  share  of  control  over  the  capital  of  others.  At  the  opposite  ex¬ 
treme,  is  a  possessor  of  wealth,  who  may  lack  the  competence  or  the  incli¬ 
nation  to  employ  the  capital  under  his  control  for  industrial  or  commercial 
purposes.  He  permits  the  temporary  use  of  this  wealth  for  the  sake  of 
the  return  which  he  will  derive  from  it,  or,  as  it  is  expressed  in  every¬ 
day  terms,  he  loans  his  principal,  or  a  part  thereof,  in  consideration  o^ 
the  payment  of  compensation  for  its  temporary  use,  in  the  form  of  inter¬ 
est  or  a  share  in  profits ;  the  ultimate  return  of  the  principal,  of  course, 
being  taken  for  granted. 

We  have  here  the  relation  of  borrower  and  lender,  which  furnishes  an 
example  of  the  office  of  credit  in  its  simplest  form.  This  relation  is 
founded  on  trust, —  credit  implies  confidence.  A  lender  or  creditor  must 
have  faith  in  his  debtor,  in  the  fidelity  of  the  latter  to  his  word  or  his 
bond,  in  his  industrial  competence,  or  in  his  commercial  ability, —  in  his 
general  character  as  a  man,  as  well  as  in  his  special  character  for  fitness 
as  an  industrial  or  commercial  factor,  even  more  than  in  the  efficiency  of 
the  law  in  enforcing  the  discharge  of  contract  obligations. 

The  operations  of  credit  are  not  always,  however,  as  simple  or  direct 
as  outline;d  above.  In  many,  perhaps  in  a  great  majority  of  instances, 
under  the  complex  conditions  of  modern  economic  society,  the  capital 
awaiting  employment  is  deposited  in  the  hands  of  others,  as,  for  example, 
banks,  or  trust  companies,  or  other  intermediaries,  by  whom  the  actual 
loans  are  made,  generally  from  a  common  fund  of  such  deposits.  A  loan 
of  money  through  a  bank  may  be  effected  by  the  familiar  process  of  dis¬ 
counting,  which  is,  in  effect,  the  allowance  of  a  bank  credit  against  a  note 


II2 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


or  promise  to  pay;  the  term  being-  derived  from  the  deduction  made  from 
the  face  of  the  note  on  account  of  the  immediate  advance  of  the  sum 
which  is  payable  at  a  future  date.  On  the  other  hand,  the  loan  may  not 
be  made  on  the  individual  security  of  the  borrower.  It  may  be  made  in 
reliance  upon  the  solvency  and  reputation  for  good  faith  of  others,  as 
sureties,  or  upon  the  value  of  securities  deposited  as  collateral  for  the 
loan.  Sometimes  the  transaction  takes  place  between  persons  doing 
business  at  a  distance,  in  which  case  there  are  called  into  play  the  ser¬ 
vices  of  institutions  specially  concerned  with  the  ascertainment  of  the 
responsibility  and  solvency  of  men  in  business.  A  rating  by  Brad- 
street’s,^^  for  example,  may  be  the  basis  for  the  allowance  or  the  refusal  of 
a  credit  to  a  business  man,  not  only  in  any  city  or  town  in  the  United 
States  or  Canada,  but  as  far  as  the  antipodes. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  what  has  been  said,  that,  however  widely  ex¬ 
tended  the  sphere  of  operations  may  be,  the  allowance  of  credit  rests  in 
the  last  analysis  upon  an  individual  basis.  The  bank  that  discounts  a 
note  must  be  satisfied  of  the  solvency  and  the  reputation  for  fair  dealing, 
either  of  the  applicant  for  a  loan,  himself,  or  of  the  sureties  whose  names 
are  upon  the  paper,  or  of  both.  The  guarantors  of  such  a  loan  must  have 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  borrower,  and,  in  commercial  transac¬ 
tions,  of  the  special  ability,  industry,  and  judgment  of  one  who  assumes 
to  employ  productively  the  capital  of  others.  In  cases  where  reliance  is 
necessarily  placed  upon  the  ratings  of  a  mercantile  agency,  the  applicant 
for  credit  must  have  a  similar  reputation  among  those  who  know  him 
best  in  business.  In  many  cases,  the  personality  and  appearance  of  the 
individual  are  determining  factors,  just  as  the  demeanor  of  a  witness  in 
a  court  room  may  turn  the  scale  in  favor  of  or  against  his  credibility.  A 
banker  of  long  experience,  who  has  written  a  treatise  of  high  character 
on  the  practice  of  banking,  says,  in  speaking  of  inquiries  about  the  char¬ 
acter  and  transactions  of  customers :  One  main  source  of  information  is 
to  see  the  man.  This,  like  other  sources  of  information,  may  sometimes 
fail,  but,  generally  speaking,  the  appearance  and  manners  of  a  man  will 
show  his  character. 

What  has  thus  far  been  said  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  principal 
desiderata  of  a  young  business  man  who  seeks  an  allowance  of  credit. 
He  must,  in  the  first  place,  acquire  the  reputation  of  a  man  of  strict 
honor  and  integrity, —  of  a  contract-keeper, —  one  whose  word  is  as  good 
as  his  bond.  Without  such  a  reputation,  any  enduring  success  in  business 
cannot  be  looked  for,  and  the  lack  of  it  in  the  first  steps  of  business  life 
may  be  fatal.  A  defect  in  this  all-important  .quality  may  be  regarded  as 
fundamental.  In  the  next  place,  a  young  business  man  in  search  of 
credit  must  impress  those  who  know  him  as  a  person  of  cornpetence  in 
the  particular  line  of  activity  in  which  he  engages.  It  is  well  to  be 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


I13 

regarded  as  a  man  of  general  ability  and  information,  and  for  such  men 
there  are  places  to  be  found,  in  the  economic  activity  of  the  time;  but  it 
will  be  better  for  a  young  man  to  achieve  the  reputation  of  being  spe¬ 
cially  capable  in  a  particular  direction.  This  age,  as  has  been  often  said, 
is  one  of  specialties,  in  which  the  division  of  labor  has  been  carried  to  an 
extent  unknown  before.  The  chances  of  success,  in  the  long  run,  do 
not  favor  so  much  a  man  who  can  do  anything  or  everything  pretty  well, 
as  they  do  a  man  who  can  do  some  one  particular  thing  better  than  any¬ 
body  else.  Upon  the  success  of  such  an  one,  a  man  who  can  furnish 
credit  will  be  more  inclined  to  bank,  as  a  current  phrase  has  it,  with 
a  special  application  in  this  instance. 

Another  matter  of  capital  importance  to  a  young  business  man 
anxious  to  achieve  success  is  that  of  personal  habits.  It  is  not  generally 
understood  how  much  weight  is  given  to  this  factor  in  the  making  or  the 
undoing  of  a  business  man.  There  are  men  who  have  already  attained 
no  small  measure  of  success  who  are  handicapped  by  doubtful  habits. 
A  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  these  weaknesses  is  not  always  widely 
diffused,  but  it  almost  always  comes  to  the  attention  of  men  who  have 
much  to  do  with  the  making  of  other  men’s  credit.  It  is  a  truth  that 
there  is  no  use  denying  that  character  is  slowly  built  up  by  habit,  and 
that  originally  fine  endowments  may  be  dimmed  or  rendered  of  little  use 
to  the  possessor,  by  yielding  to  questionable  tendencies.  In  its  begin- 
ing  the  indulgence  of  habit  is  insidious,  and  therefore  the  more  danger¬ 
ous.  At  first,  habit  may  seem  to  be  merely  a  way  of  holding  one’s  self, 
but,  in  the  end,  it  becomes  too  often  a  way  of  being  held,  and  the  victim 
of  indulgence  learns  too  late  how  use  doth  breed  a  habit  in  aman.^^ 
A  young  man  who  is  ambitious  of  success  can  make  no  better  resolution 
—  none  that  can  more  vitally  affect  his  future  —  than  that  of  avoiding 
the  first  seductive  temptation  to  indulgence  in  irregular  relations,  undue 
conviviality,  or  the  hazard  of  money  at  play,  or  speculation  in  securities 
on  margins,  or  the  running  power  of  horses.  A  certain  gravity  and 
decorum,  even  in  the  amusements  of  a  man  of  business,  will  tend  to  in¬ 
spire  confidence  in  his  capacity  to  succeed,  which  the  display  of  an 
opposite  spirit  might  imperil.  The  statistics  of  causes  of  failure  show 
that  a  calculable  percentage  of  commercial  wrecks  is  due  to  the  neglect 
of  business  directly  traceable  to  doubtful  habits. 

Speakifig  generally,  as  the  business  community  is  organized  to-day, 
the  possession  of  some  capital  is  necessary  to  establish  a  basis  for  credit. 
How  important  this  is,  will  be  understood  from  the  fact  that,  among  all 
the  causes  of  failure,  lack  of  capital  is  shown  by  the  statistics  of  commer¬ 
cial  mortality,  over  a  period  of  years,  to  be  the  most  potent  single  influ¬ 
ence.  The  average  unsuccessful  business  man  is  one  who  tries  to  do 

business  on  an  insufficient  basis  of  capital  and  character.  This  is  illus- 
13—8 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


I14 

trated  by  the  fact  that,  of  those  who  failed  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  last  year,  84. 7  per  cent,  are  shown  by  Bradstreet’s  statistics  of 
failures  to  have  had  either  no  credit  rating  at  all,  or  else  a  credit  rating 
which  was  at  best  very  moderate.  A  young  man  who,  starting  without 
any  inherited  means,  contemplates  a  business  career,  need  not,  of  course, 
be  deterred  by  these  statistics,  which  reflect  a  general  tendency,  for  every 
day  one  hears  of  cases  in  which  a  man  has  risen  to  affluence,  or,  at  least, 
has  acquired  a  competency,  by  his  own  unaided  efforts,  and  without  any 
capital  save  a  penny  earned,  which  has  turned  in  his  hands  into  a  creator 
of  further  capital.  The  process,  in  such  cases,  however,  cannot  usually 
be  other  than  a  slow  one.  It  may  be  very  appreciably  hastened  by 
knowledge  of  and  confidence  in  the  character  of  the  man, —  a  confidence 
in  the  upbuilding  of  which  the  individual  must,  in  the  last  resort,  be 
himself  the  chief  factor.  Cases  are  not  infrequent  in  which  young  men 
of  good  character  and  habits,  who  show  marked  business  competence, 
have  the  capital  of  others  placed  at  their  disposal,  and  thus,  for  the  time, 
in  effect  made  theirs. 

At  this  point,  a  word  or  two  of^  advice  may  be  ventured.  Just  as  the 
experienced  banker  suggested  in  reference  to  the  customer  asking  for  ac¬ 
commodation,  See  the  man,^^  so,  perhaps,  no  better  counsel  can  be 
given  to  young  men  looking  for  credit  than  to  urge  them  to  approach 
with  modest  boldness  the  makers  and  givers  of  credit,  and  to  lay  before 
them,  with  entire  frankness,  the  projects  and  the  prospects  upon  which 
they  base  their  hopes  of  success  in  particular  directions,  and  their  claims 
upon  the  confidence  of  holders  of  capital.  Young  men  with  a  bent  for 
a  commercial  career  should  make  it  their  business,  through  proper  in¬ 
troductions,  to  form  the  acquaintance  of  bankers  and  other  dispensers  of 
credit,  and  without  haste,  but  also  without  rest,  labor  to  attract  their 
notice  and  deserve  their  confidence.  A  certain  timidity,  often  difficult  to 
overcome,  deters  many  young  men  from  making  this  effort,  but,  noth¬ 
ing  venture,  nothing  won  is  a  maxim  of  wide  application,  for  the  busi¬ 
ness  man,  as  well  as  for  many  others.  The  words  of  the  poet  have  a 
special  bearing: — 

<  Be  bold!  be  bold!^  and  everywhere  —  ^be  bold.^* 

Be  not  too  bold!^^  Yet  better  the  excess  than  the  defect;  better 
more  than  less.  They  may  not  always  secure  the  assistance  which  might 
make  their  argosies  richly  come  to  harbor  suddenly,  but  they  have,  at 
any  rate,  little  to  lose  by  trying  to  enlist  the  sympathy  and  support  of 
men  of  the  character  mentioned,  and  they  may  have  much  to  gain. 

It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the  time  in  which  we  live 
tends  to  become  less  and  less  the  day  of  small  things  in  commercial  and 
industrial  affairs.  This  is  particularly  true  as  regards  the  larger  business 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


I15 

centers.  There  seems  to  be  less  place  for  purely  individual  endeavor, 
and  a  larger  field  for  associative  effort.  When  rightly  understood,  this 
condition  of  affairs  has  its  advantages  for  a  young  man  without  any  other 
capital  than  a  reputation  for  character  and  competency.  Many  such  men, 
more  perhaps  than  ever  before,  are,  through  official  positions,  acquiring 
a  share  in  the  direction  of  associated  capital  such  as  they  could  never 
have  aspired  to  in  times  gone  by.  They  have  a  capital  of  their  own, — 
a  reputation  for  trustworthiness,  as  regards  both  integrity  and  judgment, 
which  secures  to  them  an  importance,  as  industrial  and  commercial 
factors,  such  as  they  could  scarcely  have  attained  as  individual  business 
men. 

They  have,  as  it  were,  a  credit  in  the  one  relation  which  few  of  them 
could  have  secured  in  the  other.  The  business  world  has  places  for  men 
of  both  classes,  and  the  direction  which  shall  be  followed  by  any  indi¬ 
vidual  must'depend,  to  some  extent,  upon  the  locality  in  which  his  effort 
is  made.  In  the  long  run,  the  same  general  rules  may  be  said  to  apply 
to  both.  The  foundation  of  success  must  be  laid  in  the  individual  char¬ 
acter,  and  in  one’s  reputation,  which  is  but  a  reflex  of  that.  To  win  ad¬ 
vancement  in  either  line  of  activity,  the  prime  requisite  is  a  reputation 
for  trustworthiness ;  for  personal  and  pecuniary  integrity,  first  of  all ;  for 
business  aptitude  and  judgment  which  may  be  ripened  by  experience  into 
an  almost  automatic  sureness  of  faculty;  and  for  habits  and  environment 
which  may  be  felt  to  guarantee  a  continuity  and  perseverance  of  charac¬ 
ter  and  effort,  in  reliance  upon  which  the  future  may  safely  be  discounted. 


Corner.  —  An  artificial  scarcity  caused  by  holding  property  to  sell 
at  higher  prices,  by  reason  of  the  increased  demand. 

Corn  Laws. —  Duties  under  these  laws  were  greatly  reduced  in 
England  in  1846,  while  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  prime  minister,  further 
reduced  in  1849,  wholly  abolished  later.  The  first  Corn  Laws  in 
England  were  passed  in  1436,  and  in  the  course  of  the  four  centuries 
that  followed  they  were  often  changed.  The  protective  duty  on  grain 
was,  at  one  time,  so  high  as  to  make  importation  impossible  and  large 
bounties  were  paid  to  stimulate  its  exportation.  The  repeal  of  the 
Corn  Laws  was  effected  only  after  excited  agitation  and  intense  oppo¬ 
sition  by  interests  that  had  thrived  under  their  operation. 

Counter  Entry. —  An  entry  made  to  balance  one  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  debtor  or  creditor  columns. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


T  j6 


Damages. —  The  money  compensation  claimed  for  injury  received 
through  the  action  of  another. 

Days,  Table  of: 


TO  THE  SAME  DAY  OF  NEXT 


FROM  ANY  \ 


DAY  OF 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

January  . 

365 

31 

59 

90 

120 

151 

181 

212 

243 

273 

304 

334 

February . 

334 

3^5 

28 

59 

89 

120 

150 

181 

212 

243 

273 

303 

March . 

306 

337 

365 

31 

61 

92 

122 

153 

184 

214 

245 

275 

April . 

275 

306 

334 

365 

30 

61 

91 

122 

153 

183 

214 

244 

May . 

245 

276 

304 

335 

365 

31 

61 

92 

123 

153 

184 

214 

June . 

214 

245 

273 

304 

^34 

365 

30 

61 

92 

122 

153 

183 

July . 

184 

215 

243 

274 

304 

335 

365 

31 

62 

92 

123 

153 

August . 

153 

184 

212 

243 

273 

304 

334 

365 

31 

61 

92 

122 

September . 

122 

153 

181 

212 

242 

273 

303 

334 

365 

30 

61 

91 

October . 

92 

123 

151 

182 

212 

243 

273 

304 

335 

365 

31 

61 

November . 

61 

92 

120 

152 

181 

212 

242 

273 

304 

334 

365 

30 

December . 

31 

62 

90 

121 

151 

182 

212 

243 

274 

304 

335 

365 

When  Febrnary  is  included  between  the  points  of  time,  a  day  must  be  added  in  leap  year. 


Days  of  Grace. —  In  many  states  three  days  grace  beyond  the 
time  of  payment  stated  in  the  note  is  permitted. 

Dead  Account.  —  One  to  which  further  entries  will  probably  never 
be  made. 

Debenture. —  A  certificate  signed  by  a  public  officer  as  evidence 
of  a  debt,  in  which  the  person  is  specified. 

Debit. —  To  charge  with  debt  on  the  debit  side  of  an  account. 

Debtor. —  A  person  who  owes  another;  the  side  of  an  account  in 
which  debts  are  charged. 

Deed,  What  It  Includes. —  All  the  fences  standing  on  the  farm; 
all  the  fencing  material  which  had  once  been  so  used,  and  taken 
down  and  piled  for  future  use. 

New  fencing  material,  never  used,  is  not  so  included,  nor  are 
loose  boards  and  other  loose  lumber  piled  across  beams  in  the  barn. 

Standing  trees,  trees  blown  down  or  cut  down  and  lying  in  the 
woods  where  they  fell.  But  they  are  not  included  if  cut  up, 
staked  out,  or  corded  up  ready  for  sale. 

All  manure  or  compost,  in  the  absence  of  agreement,  unless  it 
has  been  sold  to  a  third  party  previous  to  the  sale  of  the  farm. 

All  growing  crops  and  all  buildings  are  included. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERx:E 


I17 

Default. —  Failure  to  pay  interest  or  eharges;  or  to  account  for 
money  01  trust  funds.  This  latter  is  called  defalcation. 

Demurrage. —  A  penalty  exacted  for  undue  detention  of  a  vessel 
in  port  while  loading  or  unloading. 

Deposition. —  That  to  which  one  deposes  or  swears.  A  statement 
under  oath. 

Discharge. —  The  release  from  obligation,  penalty,  or  debt. 

Discount. —  Commercial  discount  is  a  reduction  of  a  certain  per 
cent,  from  the  list  price  of  goods.  When  no  discount  is  allowed  the 
price  is  net. 

Bank  discount  is  the  interest  on  the  face  of  a  note  charged  by  the 
bank  for  the  advance  payment  of  the  note. 

Dividend. —  That  share  of  the  profits  or  interest  in  trade,  stock, 
or  venture,  which  belongs  to  the  holder  or  proprietor  in  proportion 
to  his  share  of  stock. 

Doe,  John. —  A  fictitious  name  in  law  representing  the  plaintiff  in 
cases  of  ejectment. 

Drawback. —  A  term  used  in  commerce  to  signify  the  remission 
or  refunding  of  tariff  duties  when  the  commodity  upon  which  they 
have  been  paid  is  exported.  By  means  of  the  drawback,  an  article 
on  which  taxes  are  paid  when  imported,  may  be  exported  and  sold 
in  foreign  markets  on  the  same  terms  as  though  it  had  not  been 
taxed  at  all.  The  drawback  enables  merchants  to  export  imported 
articles  taxed  at  home  and  sell  them  in  foreign  markets  on  the  same 
terms  as  those  offered  from  countries  where  no  tax  is  imposed. 

Exchequer. —  A  division  of  the  High  Court  of  Justice  in  England, 
in  which  all  questions  pertaining  to  royal  revenues  are  decided. 

Excise. —  A  tax  upon  goods  first  introduced  into  England  by  the 
Long  Parliament,  which  placed  the  tax  upon  liquors  in  1642.  It 
controls  the  licensing  of  the  sale  and  manufacture  of  liquors. 

Falling  Market. —  A  steady  decline  in  prices. 

Flat.— A  term  applied  to  the  Stock  Market  indicating  that  prices 
are  low. 

Foreclosure,  in  law  is  the  legal  process  by  which  the  mortgagor 
of  a  property  is,  on  account  of  failure  to  perform  his  obligations, 
prevented  by  law  from  all  rights  to  redeem  his  interest  in  the* 
property. 

Free  Banking  System.  —  Apr.  ii,  1838,  the  N.  Y.  legislature  passed 
the  free  bank  act,  under  the  provisions  of  which  any  person  or  per¬ 
sons  might  establish  a  bank  by  depositing  stocks,  bonds,  or  mortgages 


ii8 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


as  security  for  its  circulating  notes.  This  law  was  afterward  amended, 
requiring  at  least  half  of  the  securities  to  be  N.  Y.  state  stocks. 
Previous  to  the  passage  of  the  free  banking  law  of  N.  Y. ,  charters 
were  granted  by  special  act  of  the  legislature  of  various  states,  and 
their  circulating  medium  was  often  far  in  excess  of  their  capital. 
This  caused  heavy  losses  to  note-holders.  The  action  of  the  N.  Y. 
legislature  was  followed  by  similar  legislation  in  many  -other  states 
and  was  made  the  basis  of  the  national  banking  act  of  1863. 

Free  Trade. —  In  politics  and  economics  this  term  is  used  to  sig¬ 
nify  an  exchange  of  merchandise  between  the  people  of  different 
countries  without  the  imposition  of  any  government  tax.  A  tariff  for 
the  protection  of  home  manufactures  is  held  by  the  advocates  of  free 
trade  to  be  contrary  to  sound  principles  of  political  economy,  and  un¬ 
just  to  the  consumers  of  the  articles  so  taxed. 

Fund. —  A  deposit  of  money  from  which  supplies  are  drawn.  A 
sinking-fund  is  an  amount  set  apart,  so  that  by  constant  regular  ad¬ 
ditions  a  public  debt  may  be  paid  off  within  a  fixed  period. 

Funding. —  The  process  of  funding  a  debt  consists  in  dividing  it 
into  shares  or  bonds,  with  stated  times  of  payment  of  interest  and 
principal.  Refunding  a  debt  is  the  process  of  substituting  bonds, 
usually  at  another  rate  of  interest,  for  outstanding  obligations.  The 
first  funding  of  the  national  debt  was  by  act  of  Congress  in  1790,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Alexander  Hamiltom,  then  secretary  of  the  treas-  • 
ury.  This  act  provided  for  the  payment,  by  the  issue  of  6  per  cent, 
bonds,  of  all  the  floating,  foreign,  and  domestic  debts  of  the  U.  S., 
and  such  of  the  debts  of  the  several  states  as  were  incurred  in  pros¬ 
ecuting  the  war  for  independence.  Since  that  time  there  have  been 
numerous  issues  of  bonds  by  the  Federal  state,  county,  and  municipal 
governments.  It  was  not  until  1870  that  an  attempt  was  made  to 
refund  the  entire  national  debt,  when  Congress  passed  the  Sherman 
act,  providing  for  the  issue  of  $200,000,000  5  per  cent,  bonds  (later 
increased  to  $500,000,000),  $300,000,000  4^  per  cents,  and  $1,000,000,- 
000  4  per  cents.  The  5  per  cent,  bonds  have  been  retired  or  refunded 
at  3  or  3|-  per  cent,  interest.  Nearly  all  the  4  and  4^  per  cent  bonds 
have  been  bought  in  the  open  market  with  surplus  cash  in  the 
treasury. 

H  ONOR. —  To  accept  or  pay  a  draft,  bill,  or  note. 

Import. —  Government  tax  on  imported  goods. 

Income  Tax. —  A  form  of  direct  tax  upon  annual  incomes  in  excess 
of  a  specified  sum.  An  income  tax  has  been  levied  by  the  U.  S. 
Government  but  twice  in  its  history.  Aug.  5,  i86i,  as  a  war  revenue 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


II9 

measure,  Congress  authorized  a  tax  of  3  per  cent,  on  all  incomes  over 
$800  per  annum.  July  i,  1862,  an  act  was  passed  taxing  all  incomes 
under  $5,000,  5  per  cent.,  with  an  exemption  of  $600  and  house  rent 
actually  paid.  Incomes  of  more  than  $5,000  and  less  than  $10,000 
were  taxed  2^  per  cent,  additional,  and  incomes  of  more  than  $10,000, 
5  per  cent,  additional,  with  no  exemptions.  A  tax  of  5  per  cent,  on 
incomes  of  Americans  living  abroad  and  of  per  cent,  on  incomes 
from  U.  S.  securities  was  also  levied.  In  1864  a  special  tax  of  5  per 
cent,  was  imposed  on  all  incomes  between  $600  and  $5,000,  and  10  per 
cent,  on  incomes  of  more  than  $5,000.  This  law  was  repealed  in  1872. 
The  amount  collected  under  it  was  $346,91  t,  760.  In  August,  1894, 
the  Wilson  tariff  law  imposed  a  tax  of  2  per  cent,  on  all  incomes  in 
excess  of  $4,000.  The  Supreme  Court  in  1895  decided  this  to  be 
unconstitutional. 

Indorsement. —  Indorsement  is  the  term  generally  used  to  denote 
the  writing  of  the  name  of  the  holder  on  the  back  of  a  bill  of  exchange 
or  promissory  note,  on  transferring  or  assigning  it  to  another. 

Insolvent. —  One  unable  to  pay  outstanding  debts. 

Insurance. —  Insurance  is  a  contract  under  which  one  party,  called 
the  insurer,  agrees,  in  consideration  of  a  sum  of  money  called  the 
premium,  to  pay  a  larger  sum  of  money  to  another  party,  called  the 
insured,  on  the  happening  of  a  designated  contingency.  Insurance 
has  sometimes  been  said  to  be  akin  to  gambling,  but  it  is  really  the 
opposite.  The  gambler  seeks  excitement  and  gain  by  the  artificial 
manufacture  of  hazardous  speculations.  The  prudent  man  resorts  to 
insurance  in  order  to  secure  peace  of  mind  and  immunity  from  the 
loss  which  might  arise  from  contingencies  beyond  his  control.  The 
gambler  creates  or  exaggerates  risks;  the  insurance  office  equalizes 
them. 

In  round  numbers,  the  total  amount  of  life  insurance  written  by 
the  different  insurance  companies  of  the  world  is  $12,000,000,000.  Of 
this  sum  $5,500,000,000  is  placed  in  the  United  States.  Between  the 
years  1880  and  1890  there  was  $2,500,000,000  new  life  insurance  written 
in  this  country,  and  but  $1,000,000,000  in  the  whole  British  empire. 


120 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


INTEREST  LAWS  AND  STATUTES  OF  LIMITATIONS 


States  and 
Territories 

Interest  Laws 

Statutes  of 
Limitations 

Legal 

Rate 

Rate  Allowed 
by  Contract 

Judg¬ 

ments, 

Years 

Notes, 

Years 

Open 

Ac¬ 

counts, 

Years 

Alabama . 

Per  ct. 
8 

Per  ct. 

8 

20 

6* 

3 

Arkansas . 

6 

10 

10 

5 

3 

Arizona . 

6 

Any  rate 

5 

4 

3 

California . 

7 

Any  rate 

5 

4t 

2 

Colorado . 

8 

Anv  rate 

lott 

6 

6 

Connecticut  . . . 

6 

(7) 

X 

(^) 

6 

Delaware . 

6 

6 

20 

6 II 

3 

D.  of  Columbia 

6 

10 

12 

3 

3 

Florida . 

8 

10 

20  . 

5 

2 

Georgia  . . 

7 

8 

7 

6 

4 

Idaho . 

7 

12 

6 

5 

4 

Illinois  . 

5 

7 

20 

10 

5 

Indiana . 

'6 

8 

20 

10 

6 

Iowa . 

6 

8 

2o{d) 

10 

5 

Kansas . 

6 

10 

5 

5  , 

3 

Kentucky. . . . 

6 

6 

15 

15 

5 

5(^0 

Uouisiana . 

5 

8 

10 

3 

Maine . 

6 

Any  rate 

20 

6il 

Maryland . 

6 

6 

12 

3 

3 

Mas.sachusetts. 

6 

Any  rate 

20 

6 

6 

IMichigan . 

5 

7 

6* 

6 

6§§ 

Minnesota  .... 

6 

10 

10 

6 

6 

Mississippi. . . . 

6 

10 

7 

6 

3 

Missouri . 

6 

8 

10 

10 

5 

Montana . 

10 

Any  rate 

io(  f>) 

8 

3 

States  and 
Territories 

Interest  Laws 

Statutes  of 
Limitations 

Legal 

Rate 

Rate  Allowed 
by  Contract 

Judg¬ 

ments, 

Years 

Notes, 

Years 

Open 

Ac¬ 

counts, 

Years 

Nebraska . 

Per  ct. 

7 

Per  ct. 

10 

5« 

5 

4 

Nevada . 

7 

Any  rate 

6 

6 

4 

N.  Hampshire. 

6 

6 

20 

6 

6 

New  Jersey  . . . 

6 

6 

20 

6 

6 

New  Mexico.. . 

6  , 

12 

7 

6 

4 

New  York . 

6 

6tt 

20(  t') 

6 

6§§ 

North  Carolina 

6 

6 

10 

3* 

3 

North  Dakota. 

7 

12 

10 

6 

Ohio . . 

6 

8 

15 

6 

Oklahoma . 

7 

12 

5i^) 

5 

3 

Oregon . 

6 

10 

10 

6 

6 

Pennsylvania  . 

6 

6 

5(/) 

6|| 

6 

Rhode  Island. . 

6§ 

Any  rate 

20 

6 

6 

South  Carolina 

7 

8 

10 

6 

6 

South  Dakota. 

7 

12 

io(/) 

6 

6 

Tennessee . 

6 

Any  rate 

10 

6 

6 

Texas . 

6 

10 

I0« 

4 

2 

Utah . 

8 

Any  rate 

8 

6 

4 

Vermont . 

6 

6 

8 

6 

6?^ 

Virginia  . 

6 

6 

20 

5* 

4 

Washington . . . 

7 

12 

6 

6 

3 

West  Virginia. 

6 

6 

10 

10 

3 

Wisconsin . 

6 

10 

20(  Z) 

6 

6 

Wyoming . 

8 

12 

5(*) 

5 

8 

*  Under  seal,  lo  years,  fif  made  in  state,  if  outside,  2  years.  jNo  law  and  no  decision  regarding 
judgments.  §Unle.ss  a  different  rate  is  expressly  stipulated.  (|Under  seal,  20  years.  ^Store  accounts, 
other  accounts  3  years.  ffNew  York  has  by  a  recent  law  legalized  any  rate  of  interest  on  call  loans  of 
$5,000  or  upward,  on  collateral  security.  JjBecomes  dormant,  but  maybe  revived.  §§Six  years  from  last 
item,  (a)  Accounts  between  merchants  2  years.  (6)  In  courts  not  of  record,  5  years,  (d)  Twenty  years 
in  Courts  of  Record  ;  in  Justice’s  Court  10  years,  (e)  Negotiable  notes  6  years,  non-negotiable  17  years. 
(A)  Ceases  to  be  a  lien  after  that  period.  (/^)  On  foreign  judgments  i  year,  (z)  Is  a  lien  on  real  estate 
for  only  10  years,  (j)  Any  rate,  but  only  6  per  cent,  can  be  collected  at  law.  (>^)  And  indefinitely  by 
having  execution  issue  every  5  years.  (/)  Ten  years  foreign,  20  years  domestic. 


SIMPLE  INTEREST  TABLE 

(Showing  at  different  Rates  the  Interest  on  $i  from  i  Month  to  i  Year,  and  on  $100  from  i  Day  to  i  Year.' 


Time 

4  Per  Cent 

5  Per  Cent 

6  PER  Cent 

7  Per  Cent 

8  Per  Cent 

Dollars 

Cents 

Mills 

Dollars 

Cents 

Mills 

Dollars 

Cents 

Mills 

Dollars 

Cents 

Mills 

Dollars 

1  Cents 

Mills 

One  Dollar 

I  month . 

3 

4 

,  , 

5 

,  , 

5 

6 

2  “  . 

.  . 

7 

8 

I 

I 

I 

I 

3 

i  i 

3  “  . 

I 

I 

I 

3 

I 

5 

I 

7 

2 

6  “  . 

2 

.  . 

2 

5 

3 

3 

5 

4 

12  “  . 

4 

.  . 

5 

6 

,  . 

7 

8 

One  Hundred  Dollars  i  day . 

i 

I 

1 

3 

I 

6 

I 

9 

2 

2 

it 

“  2  "  . 

2 

2 

2 

7 

3 

2 

3 

8 

4 

4 

t 

“  3  “  . 

3 

4 

4 

,  I 

.5 

.  . 

5 

8 

6 

7 

i< 

4  . 

4 

5 

.5 

3 

6 

6 

7 

7 

8 

9 

ii  5 

y 

5 

6 

6 

9 

8 

2 

9 

7 

II 

I 

4t 

“  6  “  . 

6 

7 

8 

3 

10 

11 

6 

13 

3 

ti 

“  I  mouth . 

33 

4 

41 

6 

50 

58 

3 

66 

7 

“  2  “  . 

66 

7 

83 

2 

I 

.  . 

I 

16 

6 

I 

33 

3 

“  3  “ 

I 

I 

25 

I 

50 

I 

75 

2 

.  . 

.  . 

“  6  “  . 

2 

.  . 

.  . 

2 

50 

3 

.  • 

3 

50 

4 

•  • 

(( 

12  “  . 

4 

5 

,  . 

6 

.  . 

7 

,  . 

,  , 

8 

,  , 

BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


I2I 


COMPOUND  INTEREST  TABLE 

COMPOUND  interest  OP  ONE  DOEEAR  FOR  loo  YEARS. 


Am't 

Years 

Per 

cent. 

Accumulation 

Am’t 

Years 

Per 

cent. 

Accumulation 

Am’t 

Years 

Per 

cent. 

Accumulation 

$I 

lOO 

I 

$2.70,5 

$i 

100 

4/4 

$  81.58,9 

$i 

100 

10 

$  13,780.66 

I 

lOO 

2 

7-24,5 

I 

100 

5 

131-50,1 

I 

100 

II 

34,064.34,6 

I 

lOO 

2^ 

11.81,4 

I 

100 

6 

339.30,5 

I 

100 

12 

83,521.82,7 

I 

lOO 

3  , 

ig.2i,8 

I 

100 

7 

867.72,1 

I 

100 

15 

1,174,302.40 

I 

lOO 

3^ 

31.19,1 

I 

100 

8 

2,199.78,4 

I 

100 

18 

15,424,106.40 

I 

loo 

4 

50.50,4 

I 

TOO 

9 

5,529.04,4 

I 

100 

24 

2,198,720,  200 

YEARS  IN  WHICH  A  GIVEN  AMOUNT  WILL  DOUBLE  AT  SEVERAL 

RATES  OF  INTEREST 


Rate 

At  Simple 
Interest 

At  Compound  interest 

RATE 

At  Simple 
Interest 

At  Compound  Interest 

Compounded 

Yearly 

Compounded 

Semi-Annu¬ 

ally 

Compounded 

Quarterly 

Compounded 

Yearly 

Compounded 

Semi-Annu¬ 

ally 

Compounded 

Quarterly 

I 

100  years 

69.660 

/ 

69.487 

69.237 

6 

16.67 

11.896 

11.725 

11.639 

66.66 

46.556 

46.382 

46.297 

654 

15-38 

11.007 

.10.836 

1,0.750 

2 

50.00 

35.003 

34-830 

34.743 

7  , 

14.29 

10.245 

10.074 

9.966 

2^ 

40.00 

28.071 

27.899 

27.748 

754 

13-33 

9-584 

9.414 

9.328 

3 

33-33 

23.450 

23.278 

23.191 

8 

12.50 

9.006 

8.837 

8.751 

3^ 

28.57 

20.149 

19.977 

19.890 

854 

11.76 

8.497 

8.327 

8.241 

4 

25.00 

17.673 

17.501 

17.415 

9 

II. II 

■  8.043 

7.874 

7.788 

4/4 

22.22 

15-747 

15-576 

15-490 

954 

10.52 

7.638 

7.468 

7-383 

5 

20.00 

14.207 

14-035 

13-949 

10 

10.00 

7-273 

7.103 

7.018 

554 

18.18 

12.942 

12.775 

12.689 

12 

8.34 

6.I16 

5-948 

5.862 

Intestacy. — •The  state  of  a  person  who  has  died  without  leaving 
a  will.  Every  person  has  the  right,  as  one  of  the  incidents  of  owner¬ 
ship,  to  regulate  the  succession  of  his  property  after  his  death.  In 
all  places  the  principle  is  th^t  if  no  will  or  deed  equivalent  to  a  will 
is  executed,  or  if  a  will  executed  is  invalid  from  defect  of  form,  an 
intestacy  follows  and  the  law  provides  an  heir  or  next  of  kin  in  lieu 
of  the  owner  himself  doing  so. 

In  Transitu  (Latin).  —  In  transit. 

Inventory.  —  A  list  of  goods  and  merchandise  on  hand. 

Joint  Tenants.  —  Those  who  have  a  unity  of  time,  title,  and  pos¬ 
session  in  real  property. 

Judgment.  —  A  judicial  decree. 

Landlord  and  Tenant. —  A  landlord  is  one  who  owns  real  estate; 
a  tenant  is  one  who  hires  such  real  estate  and  adapts  it  to  his  own 
personal  use  for  a  monetary  consideration  called  rent.  In  such  a 
bargain  the  tenant  is  liable  for  all  taxes  unless  it  is  otherwise  stated 
in  the  lease.  Leases  for  a  year  or  less  may  be  verbal,  but  those  for 
a  longer  period  must  be  in  writing  and  under  seal.  All  leases  should 
be  duplicated;  one  to  be  retained  by  the  landlord,  the  other  by  the 
tenant.  A  tenant  can  sublet  the  property  so  hired,  or  any  portion 
of  it,  unless  the  lease  expressly  forbids  it,  but  a  sub-tenant  cannot 
underlet  because  a  new  lease  invalidates  a  former  one. 


122 


LAW  OF  BUSINESS,  THE 


Controversies  of  Business  Grow  out  of  Simple  Affairs  —  Agreements  Should 
RE  Put  in  Writing  and  Dated  —  Husbands  and  Wives  Cannot  be  Witnesses 
FOR  Each  Other  —  Wills  Should  be  Written  in  Plain,  Simple  Language  — 
Powers  of  Attorney — Care  in  Preparation  of  Business  Papers  —  The  Laws 
OF  Business — Statute  oP'Frauds  and  Statute  delimitations  —  Minors  under 
the  Law  —  Necessity  of  Knowing  Authority  of  Agents  before  Transacting 
Business  —  Law  for  Descent  of  Real  Estate  —  The  Orphan’s  Court  —  Per¬ 
sonal  Rancor  in  Lawsuits  Deprecated  by  Attorneys  —  Arbitrating  Lawsuits. 

# 

PROBABLY  the  first  thing  that  strongly  impresses  a  woman  new  to 
business  is  the  frequency  with  which  simple  matters,  plainly 
understood  at  the  time  they  were  talked  about,  turn  out  in  the 
end  to  be  neither  simple  nor  understood.  Such  a  woman  is  likely  to 
be  surprised  that  there  shoulij  afterward  be  any  question  about  the 
matter,  and  almost  sure  to  be  indignant  that  her  recollection  or  un¬ 
derstanding  is  disputed  by  the  other  party.  If  she  only  knew,  this  is 
her  opportunity  for  a  display  of  that  sweet  reasonableness  which  is 
at  once  the  grace  of  humanity  and  the  salt  and  savor  of  the  law. 
For  a  woman  who  has,  or  is  likely  ,to  have,  business  to  transact, 
should  learn,  in  the  beginning,  that  the  controversies  of  business  life 
grow  largely  out  of  affairs  so  easy  to  comprehend,  and  so  quickly 
agreed  upon,  that  neither  speech  nor  memory  is  greatly  burdened 
with  them  at  the  time  they  are  supposed  to  become  fixed  or  settled. 
A  difficult  or  complex  matter  is  almost  sure,  at  some  stage  of  its  dis¬ 
cussion,  to  become  the  subject  of  a  written  instrument,  whether  a 
letter,  a  memorandum,  or  a  formal  statement.  But  the  little  things 
of  business  life,  as  they  are  assumed  to  be  at  the  time,  are  put  off 
with  mere  word  of  mouth  agreements,  subject  to  all  the  risks  of  de¬ 
fective  speech  and  defective  memory.  An  oral  agreement  between 
two  persons  of  legal  capacity  is,  in  law,  binding  upon  both;  but  the 
law  looks  beyond  the  mere  words  proved  to  be  used,  to  see  if  the 
minds  of  the  parties  met,  as  well  as  their  tongues.  For  if  the  mind 
of  one  party  meant  one  thing,  and  the  mind  of  the  other  meant  some¬ 
thing  else,  the  supposed  unity  of  speech  goes  for  nothing.  A  lot  owner 
and  a  builder  may  orally  agree  upon  the  full  interior  details  of  a 
three-story  dwelling;  but  if,  all  of  the  time,  the  mind  of  the  owner 
was  upon  an  opulent  stone  front,  and  that  of  the  builder  upon  a  mod- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


123 


est  brick  structure,  there  never  was  an  agreement  to  build  the  house 
for  the  price  agreed.  In  such  a  case,  the  owner  must  be  content 
with  a  brick  front,  or  pay  the  greater  value  of  a  stone  front. 

The  safe  rule  of  business  conduct  is  to  put  into  writing  any  agree¬ 
ment  or  understanding  not  immediately  to  be  executed.  The  writing 
need  not  be  formal  in  arrangement  or  language.  For  most  of  the 
purposes  of  business  life,  a  pencil  memorandum,  in  common,  every¬ 
day  language,  is  as  good  as  anything.  But  it  should  be  signed  by 
the  parties,  and  every  written  paper  should  be  dated.  A  long  chapter 
might  be  written  upon  the  importance  of  dating  every  piece  of  business 
writing,  whatever  its  character  or  form. 

A  hastily  written  signature  may  afterward  become  doubtful  to  the 
writer  of  it,  or  to  those  familiar  with  his  handwriting.  Therefore, 
every  signed  business  paper  amounting  to  an  agreement  to  do,  or  not 
do,  something  should,  when  convenient,  bear -also  the  signature  of  at 
least  one  witness.  The  witness  need  not  see  the  paper  signed;  it  is 
enough  if,  at  any  time  after  the  signing,  the  parties  or  the  party 
against  whom  the  paper  is  intended  as  a  safeguard,  acknowledge  or 
acknowledges  that  they,  or  he,  or  she,  executed  the  paper.  The  wit¬ 
ness,  identifying  his  own  signature,  proves  the  genuineness  of  the 
paper,  and  the  contents  of  the  paper  prove  the  agreement. 

It  happens  sometimes,  by  accident,  oversight,  mistake,  or  fraud, 
that  a  written  and  signed  paper  does  not  express  the  true  intention 
of  the  signer.  As  an  agreement  consists  in  the  mutual  agreement  of 
the  parties  —  that  is,  in  the  coming  together  of  their  minds  at  the 
same  time  upon  the  same  subject  —  the  law,  upon  due  proof,  will 
make  the  paper  read  as  it  ought  to  read. 

In  view  of  this  long  discourse,  it  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  a 
word  upon  the  advisability  of  preserving  all  business  writings  for  at 
least  three  or  four  years  after  they  have  apparently  ceased  to  have 
any  importance.  A  very  common  experience  of  business  life  is  to 
suddenly  discover  the  value  of  a  writing  after  it  has  gone  to  the 
waste-basket  as  useless. 

After  all,  a  great  proportion  of  matters  of  business  must  unavoid¬ 
ably  rest  upon  merely  oral  communications  between  the  parties 
concerned.  If  the  parties  subsequently  disagree  as  to  what  their  agree¬ 
ment  was,  no  great  harm  is  done  so  long  as  they  do  not  waste  time 
and  money  in  litigation  over  the  disputed  agreement.  In  law,  and  in 
the  absence  of  an  agreement,  nobody  can  claim,  or  be  made  liable 
for,  more  than  the  fair,  current  value  of  the  thing  supplied  or  the 
service  performed.  Written  agreements  have  a  special  importance 
where  a  married  woman  is  concerned.  For  in  a  dispute  with  an 
outside  party  over  an  oral  agreement,  she  cannot  be  a  witness  for 


124 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


her  husband,  nor  he  for  her;  and  unless  his  or  her  testimony  is 
strongly  supported  by  eircumstanees  that  sustain  the  testimony,  the 
contrary  testimony  of  the  other  party  may  destroy  the  efficacy  of  the 
testimony  given  by  the  husband ;  or  by  the  wife,  if  the  case  be  her 
own.  A  serious  mistake  often  made  by  persons  unused  to  important 
matters  of  business,  is  to  destroy  some  memorandum  hastily  or 
roughly  written,  perhaps  on  a  ragged  or  scrappy  bit  of  paper,  after 
replacing  it  by  a  carefully  written  substitute  on  a  fresh  sheet  of 
paper.  But  the  destroyed  paper  was  the  original  writing,  and  its 
destruction  tends  to  cast  doubt  upon  the  integrity  or  the  accuracy  of 
the  copy  or  substitute. 

All  that  has  now  been  said  concerning  writings  and  agreements 
is  to  be  understood  as  applying  to  business  matters  and  to  transac¬ 
tions  of  every  kind,  without  repetition  hereinafter. 

That  even  an  experienced  woman  of  business  should  personally 
draw  up  deeds  of  real  estate,  wills,  building  contracts,  partnership 
agreements,  statements  of  complex  accounts,  papers  to  be  used  in 
court  proceedings,  or  other  documents  requiring  expert  knowledge  or 
technical  arrangement  or  expression,  is  not  to  be  expected  and  hardly 
to  be  desired.  But  any  intelligent  woman  who  can  write,  can  put 
into  writing  a  plain  informal  statement  of  anything  she  wishes  or 
that  she  agrees  to  do,  or  to  have  done,  or  wishes  to  have  somebody 
else  do  or  not  do,  or  agree  upon,  and  such  a  writing,  properly 
signed  or  otherwise  afterward  proved,  will  usually  enable  the  proper 
court  to  give  effect  to  the  intention  of  the  writing.  But  here  a 
special  caution  is  needed  respecting  writings  intended  to  operate 
as  wills. 

A  will  does  not  take  effect  until  the  person  who  made  it  is  dead, 
and,,  therefore,  unable  to  amend  or  alter  it.  Very  often,  the  contents 
of  a  will  do  not  become  known  to  others  until  after  the  death  of  the 
maker.  Courts  are  very  liberal  in  giving  effect  to  wills,  for  the 
reason  that  the  makers  have  passed  beyond  self-help  or  help  from 
others.  But  no  court  can  give  effect  to  a  will  that  directs  an  unlaw¬ 
ful  or  impossible  disposition  of  property,  or  that  does  not  conform 
to  the  formalities  required  by  the  law  of  the  place  where  the  will 
is  to  operate,  or  which  is  so  uncertain  that  the  true  intention 
of  the  maker  is  left  in  doubt.  Yet  a  lawfully  executed  will  is 
good  as  to  those  provisions  of  it  that  can  be  understood  and  law¬ 
fully  effected,  though  other  parts  rnay  fail  because  of  incurable 
defects. 

When  there  is  both  time  and  opportunity,  a  will  should  be  written 
in  language  so  full  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  its  meaning.  It  should 
be  dated  and  should  be  signed  by  the  maker.  If  unable,  or  too 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


1^5 

weak,  to  write,  the  maker  can  sign  by  touching  the  pen  with  which 
another  person  makes  a  cross  mark  for  the  signature.  Not  less  than 
three  persons  should  sign  a  statement  written  below  the  will,  to  the 
effect  that  the  maker  declared  the  foregoing  writing  to  be  his  or  her 
last  will  and  testament,  in  testimony  whereof  the  witness  has  signed 
the  statement  in  presence  of  the  maker.  Against  the  maker’s 
signature  should  be  a  seal  of  some  kind,  as  a  wafer;  or,  failing  that, 
a  small  piece  of  paper  gummed  to  the  written  sheet;  or,  failing  that, 
a  scroll  made  on  the  sheet  with  pen  and  ink.  In  case  all  of  these 
described  formalities  cannot  be  effected, .  they  should  be  followed  as 
far  and  as  closely  as  possible. 

Wills  often  have  many  antiquated,  fanciful,  and  wasteful  begin¬ 
nings.  A  good  and  sufficient  beginning  may  be  like_  this  —  /,  Mrs. 
Mary  J.  Smithy  of  Auburn^  in  the  State  of  New  York^  do  make  this 
my  last  will  and  testanmit^  this  fourteenth  day  of  October.,  igo2.  All 
that  follows,  down  to  the  signature  and  seal,  may  be  strictly  devoted 
to  business. 

When  a  will  apparently  favors  or  disfavors  some  beneficiary,  it  is 
well  to  make  a  short  statement  of  the  reason  for  the  discrimination. 

Wills  often  fail  because  the  maker  has  sought  to  control  the 
disposition  or  management  of  the  property  for  too  long  a  time, 
or  has  sought  to  have  it  go  this  way  or  that  way,  according 
to  a  multitude  of  things  that  may  never  happen,  or  has  sought 
to  tie  up  the  property  for  an  excessive  or  indefinite  time,  in 
order  that  it  may  greatly  increase,  and  ultimately  go  to  persons 
unborn.  When  the  maker  of  a  will  has  arranged  it  accord¬ 
ing  to  living  persons,  and  their  children  —  born  or  yet  to  be 
born  —  he  or  she  has  done  all  that  duty  or  affection  requires,  and 
about  all  that  can  be  safely  attempted.  It  is  also  unwise  to  fence  the 
gifts  of  a  will  about  with  unusual  or  overstrict  conditions.  In  the  eye 
of  the  law,  this  world  and  its  belongings  are  for  the  living,  and  the 
dead  are  not  permitted  to  inflict  injury  or  tyranny  upon  it. 

Connected  with  the  subject  of  wills,  is  the  practice  of  writing  in 
the  pass-book  of  a  savings  bank  a  direction  to  pay  the  amount  of  the 
deposit  to  a  particular  person,  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  holder. 
Such  a  writing  is  either  a  bank  check,  in  which  case  it  is  revoked  by 
the  death  of  the  maker,  or  it  is  a  will,  in  which  case  it  must  conform 
to  the  law  of  wills  as  to  execution  and  subsequent  proof.  If,  in 
expectation  of  death,  the  owner  of  the  pass-book  makes  a  gift  and 
delivery  of  it,  such  gift  and  delivery  will  pass  a  good  title  to  the 
deposit  without  any  writing;  but  if  a  writing  be  put  in  a  book,  it 
should  mention  the  gift  and  delivery,  and  the  expectation  of  death 
then  entertained  by  the  giver. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


I  26 

Any  other  personal  property  may  be  given  and  delivered  in  the 
same  way,  and  the  delivery  may  consist  in  telling  the  beneficiary 
where  the  article  is,  and  in  authorizing  him  or  her  to  take  possession 
of  it  either  immediately  or  when  the  expected  death  occurs.  The 
recovery  of -the  giver  from  the  supposed  mortal  sickness  revokes  all 
such  gifts. 

Promissory  notes  are  familiar  by  sight  to  everybody  brought  into 
contact  with  business,  and  blank  notes  are  among  the  commonest  of 
printed  forms;  so  that  but  little  needs  to  be  said  about  them.  If  the 
person  who  is  named  as  the  beneficiary  of  one  wishes  to  pass  it  to 
another  owner,  he  writes  his  name  on  the  back,  which  is  called  endors¬ 
ing  it.  This  makes  him  responsible  for  its  paym.ent  at  maturity,  if 
the  maker  fails  to  pay  and  the  endorser  is  promptly  notified.  But 
the  holder  of  a  note  who  endorses  it  only  to  transfer  the  title  to  it, 
may  escape  liability  for  its  non-payment  by  writing,  before  or  after 
his  signature  on  the  back,  the  words  Without  Recourse.  When  a 
promissory  note  does  not  state  any  time  at  which  it  is  to  be  paid,  it 
is  due  from  the  moment  of  its  delivery  by  the  maker. 

Sometimes  the  maker  of  a  note  does  not  wish  it  to  be  negotiable  ; 
that  is,  capable  of  being  transferred  from  one  person  to  another  by 
delivery.  In  that  case,  he  makes  it  pa3^able  simply  to  John  Smith, 
instead  of  to  John  Smith  or  order,  or  to  the  order  of  John  Smith. 
By  so  making  it  non-negotiable,  he  can  set  up  against  any  holder  of 
it  the  same  objections  or  defenses  against  payment  that  he  could  have 
raised  against  John  Smith,  if  the  latter  had  retained  the  ownership 
of  it. 

When  a  mere  written  acknowledgment  of  a  debt  is  all  that  a 
creditor  desires  or  needs,  the  debtor  can  give  it  this  form:  /.  O.  U. 
Fifty.  Dollars^  November  /y,  igoi.  To  this  brief  acknowledgment  he 
signs  his  name  and  then  he  owes  the  money  to  whoever  is  in  lawful 
possession  of  the  so-called  I.  O.  U.  This  is  an  improvement  upon  the 
promissory  note  —  for  the  debtor.  There  is  no  promise  to  pay  the 
debt,  nor  any  time  or  place  mentioned  for  payment,  nor  any  admis¬ 
sion  that  the  debt  is  based  upon  value  received.  The  paper  is  pre¬ 
sumptive  evidence  of  the  debt,  and  puts  upon  the  signer  the  burden 
of  proving  that  he  does  not  owe  the  debt,  if  he  disputes  it. 

As  to  all  business  writings,  it  may  be  remarked  that  every  such 
paper  should  show  the  place  where  it  originated ;  the  date  when 
written;  the  person  from  whom  it  proceeds;  the  character  in  which 
he  issues  it  —  whether  personal  or  official,  in  his  own  right,  or  as  an 
agent,  attorney,  or  trustee,  for  another;  his  customary  address  or 
location ;  the  name,  quality,  and  location,  of  the  person  to  whom  issued 
or  for  whom  intended,  and  the  object  or  occasion  for  making  it.  Some 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


127 


of  these  particulars  must,  of  necessity,  be  expressly  stated,  while 
others  may  be  plainly  inferred  from  the  whole  contents  of  the  paper, 
and  need  not  be  expressly  mentioned.  These  remarks  apply  to  a  brief, 
informal  memorandum,  to  a  formally  addressed  and  arranged  letter, 
and  so  upward  in  the  scale  to  a  legal  deed  of  conveyance. 

A  word  may  be  added  regarding  the  signature  of  papers.  Some 
writings  require  to  be  subscribed  —  that  is,  signed  at  the  end,  and  it 
is  customary  and  advisable  so  to  sign  all  papers;  but  even  a  prom¬ 
issory  note  that  reads  /,  John  Smithy  promise  to  pay,  is  legally  signed 
if  John  Smith  wrote  his  name,  and  a  signature  by  initials  is  good 
unless  the  law  otherwise  provides.  ^ 

Mistakes  are  sometimes  made  in  the  given  names  of  persons, 
or  in  the  initials  of  their  given  names,  or  in  the  spelling  of  their 
surnames.  Such  mistakes  may  cause  trouble  or  inconvenience,  but 
are  of  no  other  consequence  if  the  person  meant  can  be  iden¬ 
tified  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  for  names  are  but  ear-marks  in 
law,  to  distinguish  one  person  from  another.  If  Mary  Bowen  is 
called  Mary  Brown  in  a  check,  draft,  or  note,  she  first  endorses  it 
as  Mary  Brown,  and  then  in  her  true  name.  If  in  a  deed  that  has 
been  recorded  and  not  corrected,  then  in  her  own  subsequent  deed 
she  may  be  described  as  Mary  Bowen,  sometimes  called  Mary  Brown. 

So  much  has  been  said  in  favor  of  the  use  of  printed  forms  for 
business  purposes,  that  a  short  list  of  the  blanks  most  likely  to  be 
needed  for  business  of  one  sort  or  another,  is  sure  to  be  acceptable. 
In  small  towns  or  villages,  where  they  are  not  kept  in  stock,  the  local 
booksellers  can  procure  them  as  needed. 

Forms  Relating  to  Real  Estate. —  Bill  of  sale;  builder’s  agree¬ 
ment;  builder’s  bond,  with  surety,  for  execution  of  agreement;  deed, 
full  title,  or  quit  claim;  leases,  monthly  or  by  the  year,  or  term  of 
years;  mining  deed;  mortgage;  notice  to  tenant  to  quit;  promissory 
note,  secured  by  mortgage,  and  same  with  separate  notes  for  interest ; 
release  of  mortgage. 

Forms  Relating  to  Personal  Property. —  Assignment  of  interest 
in  patent  or  invention;  bill  of  sale;  mortgage  of  household  fur¬ 
niture,  store  fixtures,  stock,  farm  utensils,  or  other  movable  property; 
promissory  notes,  unsecured,  or  secured  by  mortgage  of  movable  prop¬ 
erty  or  by  deposit  of  securities;  release  of  mortgage. 

General  Forms,  Applicable  to  Real  Estate,  Personal  Property, 
OR  TO  Mere  Personal  Relations  or  Responsibility. —  Affidavit,  agree¬ 
ment,  assignment,  bill  of  sale,  bond,  employee’s  bond,  power  of  attor¬ 
ney,  receipt,  will. 

A  collection  of  these  forms,  fastened  together  and  kept  at  hand, 
would  be  a  ready  aid  to  business  required  to  be  put  into  writing,  and 


128 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


a  study  of  any  of  the  forms,  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  before  the 
mind  each  and  all  of  its  provisions,  would  certainly  sharpen  the  busi¬ 
ness  faculty. 

There  is  a  class  of  books  that  may  be  designated  under  the  title  of 
Every  Man  His  Own  Lawyer,  that  are  more  useful  to  lawyers  than 
to  others ;  but  which  have  their  usefulness  in  business,  so  long  as  the 
inexperienced  do  .not  attempt  to  be  exclusively  their  own  lawyers  in 
matters  of  importance  or  complexity.  One  of  these  publications  stands 
so  far  above  the  rest  as  to  warrant  a  particular  mention  of  it.  That 
is  the  little  book  entitled  The  Laws  of  Business,  by  the  late  Pro¬ 
fessor  Parsons,  one  of  the  great  names  in  American  jurisprudence. 

Things,  as  well  as  persons,  are  under  the  law;  wherefore,  in 
buying  lands,  or  stocks,  or  bonds,  for  an  investment,  or  in  lending 
upon  the  security  of  them,  it  is  always  needful  to  know  the  leading 
provisions  of  the  law  that  applies  to  them.  If  this  be  disregarded, 
loss  or  vexation  may  unexpectedly  follow.  For  example,  to  lend 
money  at  seven  per  cent.,  where  the  legal  rate  is  limited  to  six  per 
cent.,  may  cause  the  loss  of  all  the  interest  and,  in  some  places,  of  the 
whole  of  the  sum  lent.  This  is  but  one  of  many  possible  illus¬ 
trations  of  the  necessity  of  doing  things  according  to  law,  as  well  as 
according  to  the  agreement  of  the  parties.  An  express  agreement  is 
a  special  law  made  by  the  parties  for  themselves,  but  their  special 
law  must  he  made  within  the  limits  of  the  general  law  and  must  not 
pass  its  bounds.  The  general  law  expresses  the  public  will  and  de¬ 
fines  the  public  interest,  and  when  private  and  public  policy  conflict, 
the  latter  overrides  the  former.  Every  business  transaction  is  legally 
assumed  to  be  founded  upon  a  contract,  but  in  fact,  the  majority  of 
business  transactions  occur  without  any  express  or  prior  agreement. 
In  every  such  case,  the  law  infers  an  agreement  to  pay  the  reason¬ 
able  value  of  services  rendered  or  of  supplies  furnished,  and  because 
of  this  sensible  view  of  the  law,  the  world  is  enabled  to  live  and  to 
move  in  a  rational  and  diligent  way. 

Two  notable  laws  that  bear  directly  on  business  relations  are  those 
respectively  known  as  the  Statute  of  Frauds  and  the  Statute  of 
Limitations.  The  object  of  the  first  is  to  lessen  misunderstandings 
and  perjuries  by  requiring  all  agreements  affecting  real  estate,  or 
personal  property  exceeding  fifty  dollars  in  value,  to  be  put  into  some 
form  of  writing;  though  as  to  personal  property,  the  payment  of 
money  to  bind  the  bargain,  or  the  delivery  and  acceptance  of  the 
goods,  or  part  of  the  goods,  dispenses  with  the  writing.  The  object 
of  the  second  law  is  to  compel  the  bringing  of  lawsuits  within  such 
reasonable  time  after  the  occasion  for  bringing  them  arises  that  the 
defendants  may  not  be  put  to  unjust  inconvenience  or  loss  by  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


129 


failure  of  memory,  the  death  of  witnesses,  and  the  disappearance  or 
destruction  of  papers.  These  statutes  have  been  in  operation  in  both 
England  and  the  United  States  for  some  three  centuries,  and  have 
so  woven  themselves  into  the  web  of  business  life  that  *  persons  who 
have  never  heard  their  names,  or  who  are  unacquainted  with*  their 
provisions,  in  transacting  business  unconsciously  conform  to  their 
requirements.  The  popular  expectancy  that  a  business  agreement, 
not  to  be  instantly  executed,  is  to  be  put  into  writing,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  arises  not  so  much  from  the  universality  of  writing  in 
these  days,  as  from  the  long-molded  habit  resulting  from  the  Statute 
of  Frauds. 

So,  when  a  client  consults  a  lawyer  about  bringing  suit  on  a 
matter  some  ten  years  old,  or  thereabouts,  and  is  advised  that  the 
case  is  barred, —  that  the  claimant  has  waited  too  long, —  there  is  less 
surprise  than  disappointment  felt;  because  for  three  centuries,  nearly, 
the  Statute  of  Limitations  has  been  at  work;  and,  though  the  client 
may  have  had  no  prior  occasion  for  direct  knowledge  of  it,  he  has 
known  and  for  the  time  forgotten,  of  cases  of  others  that,  like  his 
own,  had  become  barred  by  lapse  of  time. 

Both  statutes  have  been  much  amended,  by  additions  needed  to  fit 
them  to  modern  and  existing  conditions  of  life ;  but  these  are  nothing 
by  comparison  with  the  indirect  alterations  made  by  eourts,  in  osten¬ 
sibly  applying  the  statutes  to  the  cases  before  them.  Let  us  suppose 
that  a  grocer,  having  an  old  and  profitable  stand,  but  whose  business 
has  outgrown  its  aecommodations,  makes  an  oral  agreement  with  the 
owner  of  the  next  door  premises  for  a  long  lease  of  them.  The  par¬ 
ties  have  confidence  in  each  other;  the  grocer  is  in  a  hurry,  and, 
with  the  consent  of  the  other  party,  proceeds  to  pull  down  the 
partition  and  to  fit  up  and  stock  the  annexed  premises.  Then  the 
owner,  thinking  that  he  has  the  grocer  shaekled,  tells  the  latter  that 
he  has  changed  his  mind  about  leasing  the  premises  to  him  upon  the 
terms  agreed,  and  offers  him  the  alternative  of  getting  out  or  of  paying 
an  extortionate  price  for  a  new  agreement.  According  to  the  language 
of  the  Statute  of  Frauds,  the  grocer  is  without  remedy.  He  knows 
that  the  law  required  him  to  take  a  written  agreement  from  his  tor¬ 
mentor,  and  he  knows  that  a  court  has  no  power  to  change  or  to 
ignore  the  law.  But  the  court  knows  more  than  the  grocer.  Though 
the  king  and  Parliament,  that  made  the  law,  have  been  dead  for  cen¬ 
turies,  and  in  their  lifetime  never  uttered  a  word  outside  of  the  stat¬ 
ute  itself,  the  judge  gravely  declares  this  to  be  a  case  to  which  they 
did  not  intend  the  statute  to  apply.  So  the  grocer  gets  his  lease; 
the  owner  gets  his  proper  rent,  but  pays  the  cost  of  the  lawsuit;  the 
statute  continues  to  flourish;  the  court  has  administered  the  law  with- 
13—9 


130 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


out  presuming  to  touch  a  hair  of  it,  and  one  more  is  added  to  the 
innumerable  cases  outside  the  statute. 

There  has  been  the  like  experience  with  the  Statute  of  Limitations. 
A  new  promise  to  pay  an  old  debt,  or  a  payment  on  account  of  an 
old  debt,  or  fraud  practised  by  the  debtor  upon  the  creditor,  are 
among  the  more  familiar  circumstances  that  take  a  case  out  of  the 
statute.  In  the  popular  estimation,  it  is  dishonorable  to  plead  the 
statute  against  an  otherwise  honest  debt,  and  this  is  true  in  many 
cases.  For  a  long  time  the  popular  view  was  shared  by  both  English 
and  American  judges,  who  grasped  at  the  most  trivial  circumstances 
as  sufficient  to  take  a  case  ^^out  of  the  statute  and  to  allow  it  to  be 
heard  on  its  merits.  But  in  1828,  that  great  jurist.  Justice  Story,  in 
delivering  a  judgment  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  spoke 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  law  as  a  statute  of  repose,  a  wise  and  bene¬ 
ficial  law,  intended  to  encourage  speedy  settlements  of  accounts,  and 
to  afford  security  against  stale  demands,  the  merits  of  which  had  be¬ 
come  lost  to  knowledge  by  lapse  of  time.  If  a  dilatory  creditor 
sometimes  lost  an  honest  claim,  it  was  entirely  his  own  fault;  but 
there  was  no  fault  in  the  greater  number  of  innocent  men,  for  whom 
the  statute  stood  as  a  shield  against  fraud  and  perjury.  This  view  of 
the  law  is  that  now  held  by  the  courts  of  both  countries. 

Except  in  a  very  plain  case,  it  is  impracticable  for  an  inexperienced 
person  to  judge  whether  a  particular  matter  does  or  does  not  come 
under  the  Statute  of  Frauds  or  of  Limitations.  The  question  is  one 
for  a  lawyer,  and  he  is  not  likely  to,  give  an  off-hand  opinion  about 
it.  All  that  can  be  said  in  the  way  of  general  usefulness  is  that  the 
two  statutes  are  in  force ;  that  the  tendency  of  the  courts  is  to  enforce 
them,  and  that  in  a  doubtful  matter,  the  case  is  most  likely  to  be 
held  as  within  the  statute,  and  not  one  of  the  exceptions  to  it. 

Some  classes  of  people  are  under  legal  disability  to  enter  into 
business  engagements  that  bind  them,  though  the  other  party  to  such 
a  transaction  may  be  bound.  Minors  are  the  most  numerous  class. 
In  some  places  full  age  is  attained  at  eighteen ;  in  others  riot  until 
twenty-one  years.  A  person  may  be  of  full  age  for  some  purposes 
and  not  for  other  purposes.  In  some  places,  marriage  hastens  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  full  age,  and  in  others  it  does  not.  In  transacting  important 
business,  anywhere,  a  prime  requisite  is  to  know  the  law  of  the  place. 

For  that  which  is  necessary  to  support  health  or  education,  a  minor 
can  make  a  binding  agreement,  but  as  to  other  things,  he  may  con¬ 
firm  or  repudiate,  as  he  pleases,  after  he  becomes  of  age. 

Married  women  are  under  the  same  disability  as  are  minors,  ex¬ 
cept  when  dealing  with  their  own  separate  property,  as  to  which  the 
law  now  places  them  on  the  footing  of  single  women. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


131 

Insane  persons,  including  idiots,  are  of  course  under  disability,  and 
as  insanity  is  much  on  the  increase,  this  is  a  matter  that  persons 
transacting  important  business  must  always  have  in  mind.  The  most 
difficult  case  is  that  of  an  insane  person  who  experiences  intervals  of 
sanity,  because  what  is  done  in  such  intervals  is  good  in  laW, 

Rights  of  married  women,  minors,  and  absent  persons,  which 
otherwise  would  be  barred  by  the  law  of  limitations,  are  preserved 
for  them  till  the  wives  become  single,  the  minors  of  full  age,  and 
the  absent  persons  have  returned;  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  the 
term  of  three,  five,  or  more  years  granted  by  the  law  for  the  bring¬ 
ing  of  actions  begins  to  run.  When  it  has  begun  to  run  it  continues, 
even  if  a  widow  remarries;  if  a  girl,  lately  become  of  age,  takes  a 
husband;  or  if  the  returned  absentee  goes  away  again. 

Adverse  possession  of  real  estate  for  twenty  years  usually  gives  a 
good  title  to  the  possessor.  But  if  the  rival  claimant  out  of  posses¬ 
sion  be  a  married  woman,  and  she  dies  in  wedlock,  leaving  as  her 
heir  a  daughter  under  age,  who  marries  during  minority,  and  who 
dies  and  leaves  a  minor  as  her  heir,  the  party  in  possession  may  be 
lawfully  attached  half  a  century  or  more  after  his  title  seems  to  be 
good.  This  would  be  a  rare  and  an  extreme  case,  but  such  cases  do 
now  and  then  occur. 

The  title  and  the  possession  of  real  or  personal  property  is  often 
put  in  the  care  of  a  trustee,  for  the  benefit  of  some  other  person,  in 
whom,  for  one  cause  or  another,  it  is  not  practicable,  or  safe,  or  de¬ 
sirable,  to  put  the  direct  title  or  possession.  So  long  as  the  trustee 
is  diligent  and  faithful,  the  beneficiary’s  interests  are  in  a  good  state, 
and  the  law  is  very  sharp  in  holding  trustees  to  their  duties.  Never¬ 
theless,  there  are  many  and  serious  losses  from  negligence  or  abuse 
of  trusts.  Where  the  property  put  in  trust  is  of  considerable  value, 
the  best  trustee  to  choose  is  one  of  the  large  financial  corporations 
known  as  trust  companies.  They  are  legally  empowered  to  act  as 
trustee,  administrator,  or  executor,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  are  financially 
sounder,  and  better  able  to  take  care  of  a  trust,  or  an  estate,  than  are 
individuals.  They  are  especially  safe  and  useful  for  women  having 
property  interests  important  to  themselves,  or  intrinsically  large. 
Their  business  is  so  organized  and  conducted  that  they  can,  and  will, 
look  after  small  properties  and  large  properties  with  equal  diligence 
and  success,  and,  as  much  of  their  business  comes  from  the  property 
interests  of  women  and  children,  it  is  particularly  agreeable  for 
women  to  do  business  with  them.  Safety,  speed,  and  comfort  is 
a  railway  and  steamship  motto  that  could  readily  be  applied  to 
business  done  with  trust  companies.  They  are  at  once  trustees, 
agents,  attorneys,  administrators,  executors,  guardians,  savings  banks, 


132 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


deposits  banks,  storage  warehousemen;  real  estate,  mortgage,  stock 
and  bond  investors  for  customers,  and  a  multitude  of  other  things 
in  a  financial  and  business  way.  Some  people  who  live  on  the  in¬ 
come  of  investments,  put  their  whole  capital  in  charge  of  a  trust 
company,  and  cheerfully  pay  the  reasonable  charges  for  the  safety, 
convenience,  and  profit  of  such  an  arrangement. 

The  business  transactions  of  life  are  conducted  to  an  astonishing 
extent  by  or  with  persons  who,  because  they  do  not  act  for  them¬ 
selves,  are  of  necessity,  and  in  law,  agents.  This  is  true  of  the 
domestic  servant  who  goes  to  the  grocery  for  supplies  to  be  charged 
to  her  employer,  of  the  saleswoman  or  clerk  in  a  store  or  commercial 
house,  of  the  conductor  of  a  railway  train,  of  the  head  of  an  execu¬ 
tive  department  at  the  national  capital  and  of  such  a  multitude  of 
persons  and  corporations,  in  such  a  variety  of  circumstances,  that  the 
human  mind  could  not  conceive  or  contain  them  all.  And  in  the 
business  experiences  of  a  life,  the  losses  and  disappointments  due  to 
the  failure  of  principles  to  confirm  or  to  execute  the  agreements  or 
arrangements  of  their  agents,  make  a  large  and  somber  figure. 
Hence  the  supreme  importance,  in  both  great  and  little  things,  of 
what  is  now  to  be  stated:  namely,  that  whoever  deals  with  another 
person,  knowing  or  having  reasonable  cause  to  know  that  person  to 
be  acting  for  somebody  else,  whether  an  individual,  an  association,  a 
corporation,  or  a  government,  is  legally  bound  to  ascertain  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  authority  of  that  agent  before  closing  with  him. 
No  individual,  association,  corporation,  or  government  can  always 
act  directly  for  himself  or  itself ;  therefore,  he  or  it  must  sometimes 
act  through  agents.  It  is  impossible  that  he  or  it  could  anticipate 
all  that  an  agent  may  say  or  do,  but  it  is  possible  for  a  person  deal¬ 
ing  with  that  agent  to  find  out  what  the  principal  has  authorized  him 
to  say  or  to  do  in  the  particular  matter.  Wherefore  the  law,  which  is 
nothing  more  than  commion  sense  formalized,  puts  upon  the  proper 
party  the  responsibility  of  inquiring  into  that  which  could  not  be 
known  without  inquiry.  Of  course,  if  the  agent  chooses  to  act  as 
a  principal,  and  is  financially  good,  the  real  principal  may  be  disre¬ 
garded. 

When  the  owner  of  real  estate  dies  without  making  a  will,  the  law 
of  the  place  comes  into  operation,  and  directs  how  and  to  whom 
the  title  and  possession  shall  descend.  The  law  of  descent  is  not 
uniform  throughout  the  United  States;  but,  in  general,  it  provides 
that  one-third  shall  go  to  the  widow  for  life,  and  the  rest  in  equal 
shares  to  children;  the  children  of  any  deceased  child  taking  what 
would  have  been  their  parent’s  share.  If  the  lately  deceased  owner 
of  the  real  estate  was  a  wife,  and  children  have  been  born  of  the 


BUvSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


133 


marriage,  then  the  husband  gets  the  whole  for  his  life,  after  which  it 
goes  equally  to  the  children. 

Where  there  are  no  children,  or  descendants  of  children,  the  real 

estate  goes  to  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  last  owner,  and  to  their 

descendants.  If  that  line  of  inheritance  fails,  the  law  goes  up  to  the 

father  of  the  last  owner  and  gives  the  property  to  his  brothers  and 

sisters  and  to  their  descendants.  But  if  the  real  estate  came  to  the 

\ 

last  owner  through  his  or  her ,  mother’s  side,  then  it  goes  to  the 
brothers  and  sisters  of  the  mother  and  to  their  descendants. 

The  law  for  the  descent  of  real  estate  not  disposed  of  by  will  is 
so  voluminous  that  no  useful  purpose  could  be  served  by  following 
it  out  here.  The  principle  of  the  law  is  to  give  the  estate  to  those 
of  the  blood  of  the  last  owner;  the  downward  line  having  precedence 
of  the  upward;  those  nearest  being  preferred  to  those  more  distantly 
connected,  and  those  tracing  their  connection  through  fathers  being 
preferred  to  those  tracing  through  mothers,  except  when  the  estate 
came  through  the  mother’s  line.  On  a  total  failure  of  blood  rela¬ 
tionship,  and  when  there  is  no  surviving  husband  ♦  or  wife,  the 
property  goes  to  the  state. 

Every  state  and  territory  of  the  Union  has  a  perfectly  just  and 
reasonable  law  for  the  disposition  of  real  estate  not  disposed  of  by 
will  of  the  last  owner.  So  that  if  the  owner  of  real  estate  has  as 
many  as  three  or  four  children,  including  the  descendants  of  deceased 
children,  and  does  not  wish  to  give  husband,  widow,  or  any  child  any 
more  than  as  above  stated  in  describing  the  general  law,  then  there 
is  no  necessity  for  a  will  of  real  estate. 

The  law  everywhere,  too,  provides  for  a  just  and  reasonable  dis¬ 
tribution  of  personal  property  not  disposed  of  by  will.  The  logical 
cause  for  making  a  will  is  the  desire,  the  expediency,  or  the  justice, 
of  setting  the  law  aside  in  the  particular  case,  in  order  to  make  a 
special  arrangement  better  suited  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
either  as  they  actually  exist  at  the  time  the  will  is  made,  or  as  it  is 
reasonably  possible  they  may  exist  at  the  time  the  maker  of  the  will 
dies. 

In  the  case  of  real  estate  not  disposed  of  by  will,  the  title  and  the 
right  to  possession  pass  instantly,  by  mere  force  of  law,  without  any 
special  proceedings,  to  those  entitled,  called  the  heirs  at  law.  But 
devisees,  being  those  to  whom  real  estate  is  given  by  will,  must  establish 
the  will  in  the  court  charged  with  the  administration  of  estates  of 
deceased  persons.  The  same  court  also  has  charge  of  the  interests  of 
orphans  under  age  appointing,  supervising,  and  controlling  the  guard¬ 
ians  of  their  person  and  property.  The  proceedings  in  these  courts 
are  usually  less  technical  than  in  other  courts,  and  the  judges,  and 


134 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


clerks,  of  such  courts,  having  widows  and  orphans  for  their  habitual 
suitors,  are  accustomed  to  do  much  more  of  the  work  in  a  case  than 
is  customary  in  other  courts,  where  lawyers  are  habitually  employed. 
Under  favoring  circumstances,  it  is  quite  possible  for  an  intelligent 
woman,  with  the  customary  aid  of  the  court  officials,  to  carry  through 
the  settlement  of  a  large  estate ;  but,  as  a  general  rule,  it  is  better  to 
have  a  lawyer  for  any  estate  amounting  to  as  much  as  three  thousand 
dollars.  So  strong  is  the  feeling  that  widows  and  orphans  are  special 
objects  of  consideration,  that  lawyers  of  good  standing  usually  charge 
less  in  an  administration  case  than  in  other  kinds  of  professional 
business.  True,  many  estates  are  diminished,  and  even  wasted,  in  the 
probate  courts  —  as  such  courts  are  called  —  but  that  is  because  of  the 
hatreds  and  contentions  of  the  principal  parties.  The  popular  idea 
that  lawyers  are  fomenters  of  litigation  is  known  to  be  untrue  by  the 
lawyers  themselves.  Their  experience  of  the  delays,  uncertainties, 
and  expenses  of  legal  contentions,  puts  them  in  a  frame  of  mind  to 
avoid  or  to  shorten  litigation;  beside  which,  the  more  profitable  part 
of  a  lawyer’s  business  is  that  which  is  done  amicably.  Where  noth¬ 
ing  is  to  be  spent  on  a  lawsuit,  he  can  reasonably  charge  more  for  a 
special  service.  A  lawyer  in  good  practice,  and  of  good  repute,  dreads 
nothing  more  than  the  bitterness  and  ardor  of  a  family  quarrel  over 
property.  Any  such  quarrel,  fought  out  strenuously  to  the  end,  is 
very  likely  to  leave  the  lawyer  with  far  less  pay  for  his  labor  than 
he  ought  reasonably  to  receive.  Family  lawsuits  are  often  proper 
means  for  bringing  the  judicial  machinery  of  the  state  to  a  solution 
of  uncertainties  and  conflicting  claims  that  the  parties  could  not  settle 
among  themselves  with  satisfaction.  But  when  the  parties  are  person¬ 
ally  inflamed  against  one  another,  the  lawyers  in  the  case,  like  other 
members  of  the  community,  are  shocked  by  the  display  of  unnatural 
feeling,  and  they  sometimes  come  together,  behind  the  backs  of 
their  clients,  to  concert  means  for  moderating  a  fury  that  they  cannot 
openly  control.  For  a  lawyer  to  promote  or  encourage  personal  rancor 
in  parties  to  a  lawsuit,  would  be  to  blacklist  himself  with  the  bench 
and  bar,  and  next  to  doing  well  at  his  business,  there  is  nothing  a 
lawyer  so  much  esteems  as  standing  well  with  those  who  know  him 
better  than  any  client  can  know  him.  Newspaper  accounts  of  legal 
proceedings  concern  themselves  mostly  with  exceptional  cases,  and 
with  the  personal  affairs  of  the  less  worthy  members  of  the  bar,  so 
that  the  public  gets  but  a  partial,  and  a  misleading,  view  of  the  prac¬ 
tical  working  of  the  law.  Jurymen  learn  better,  but  a  man  with 
repute,  talent,  and  leisure,  enough  to  enlighten  his  fellow-citizens, 
shuns  jury  service  whenever  he  can,  and  drops  the  whole  business 
from  his  mind  when  a  reluctant  tour  of  jury  duty  is  completed, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


135 


What  has  been  said  suggests  a  referenee  to  the  device  of  arbitra¬ 
tion,  as  a  substitute  for  law,  in  deciding  controversies  between  parties 
who  cannot  settle  their  own  dispute.  An  arbitration  is  quick,  easy, 
and  inexpensive,  and,  therefore,  free  of  the  ingrained  qualities  of  a 
legal  proceeding.  Unless  these  merits  are  overbalanced  by  incurable 
defects,  arbitration  ought  to  displace  legal  procedure  to  a  very  ap¬ 
preciable  extent;  but  it  does  nothing  of  the  kind.  In  respect  to  pri¬ 
vate  contentions,  it  makes  hardly  a  ripple  on  the  surface  of  litigation. 
A  legal  proceeding  has  its  formal  statements,  technically  called  plead¬ 
ings,  which  bring  out  clearly  the  questions  of  fact,  and  the  legal 
rights  upon  which  the  decision  must  turn  in  order  to  be  rational  and 
just.  It  has  its  rules  of  evidence,  for  proof  of  the  facts,  under  which 
everything  pertinent  is  admitted  and  everything  irrelevant  shut  out. 
It  has  its  learned  and  experienced  advocates,  on  each  side,  to  apply 
the  evidence  to  the  facts,  and  the  facts  to  the  right  of  the  case.  Dis¬ 
putes  about  the  pleadings,  the  evidence,  or  the  law  of  the  case,  are 
submitted  to,  argued  before,  and  adjudged,  by  a  man  whose  profes¬ 
sional  training  and  life-work  have  especially  fitted  him  to  consider 
such  questions  intelligently  and  to  decide  them  justly.  Nearly  every 
such  question  has  arisen  in  prior  cases,  and  whenever  it  has  been  dis¬ 
puted  and  argued  to  the  utmost  limit,  there  is  an  existing  report  of 
how  it  was  decided,  and  of  the  reasons  for  the  decisions,  that  aids  in 
rightly  deciding  it  again.  If  the  case  is  to  be  first  decided  by  a  jury, 
the  judge  has  prepared  the  jury  for  a  right  decision  by  admitting 
all  the  proper,  and  excluding  all  the  improper,  evidence ;  by  reviewing 
the  evidence,  without  suggesting  what  parts  or  witnesses  to  accept  or 
reject,  and  by  putting  the  law  before  the  jurymen  in  such  a  way  that 
their  untrained  intelligence  may  apply  it  to  any  conclusion  they  may 
come  to  about  the  facts.  In  short,  all  that  the  civilized  world  has 
learned,  in  thousands  of  years,  about  finding  out  -the  truth  and  ap¬ 
plying  it  to  the  practical  uses  of  justice,  is  drawn  upon  to  do  justice 
to  the  parties  in  a  lawsuit.  Arbitration,  in  the  way  it  is  commonly 
practised,  omits  all  these  numerous  and  important  aids  to  doing  what 
is  required  to  be  done.  It  acts  upon  the  theory  of  inviting  a  highly 
esteemed  tailor  or  shoemaker  to  conduct  a  chemical  analysis,  to  repair 
the  machinery  of  a  watch,  or  to  operate  a  steam-engine.  When  law¬ 
yers  go  to  arbitration  before  a  single  arbitrator,  they  always  choose  a 
lawyer,  so  that  they  may  have  all  the  attainable  advantages  of  legal 
procedure  without  actually  going  to  litigation.  If  there  be  two  or 
more  arbitrators,  they  seek  to  have  one  of  them  a  lawyer,  to  help  get 
the  dispute  properly  sighted,  properly  enlightened  by  proof,  and  prop¬ 
erly  fitted  to  such  principles  of  right  and  justice  as  apply  everywhere, 
and  that  never  change.  Indeed,  to  go  into  an  unsuitably  prepared 


136 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


arbitration  is  as  bad  as  the  preceding  carelessness  that,  in  a  good  half, 
or  more,  of  the  cases,  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  calls  for  arbitration  or 
litigation.  In  a  case  of  any  importance,  the  services  of  a  lawyer  are 
as  much  needed  for  an  arbitration  as  for  court  proceedings. 


SUCC£ED  IN  LIFE  INSURANCE 

By  GAGE  E.  TAR  BELL 
Second  Vice-p*'esident  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society 

The  life  insurance  solicitor  is  a  salesman  who  offers  to 
the  public  one  of  the  finest  commodities  in  the 
world.  It  is  a  commodity  which  protects  widows 
and  helpless  children  from  suffering,  and  under  our 
modern  policies,  gives  to  a  man  a  guarantee  that  poverty, 
like  a  worm,  will  not  eat  the  peace  and  comfort  out  of 
his  last  years.  It  provides  the  ideal  method,  devised  and 
developed  by  long  years  of  study  and  experience,  by 
which  a  part  of  man’s  virile  and  efficient  present  can 
be  passed  on  to  be  his  protection  in  enfeebled  age,  and 
also  the  protection  of  those  dependent  upon  him  when  he 
answers  the  call  of  death.  But  closing  our  eyes,  as  we 
all  like  to  do,  to  the  picture  of  inevitable  age  and  dissolu¬ 
tion,  the  life  insurance  policy  will  increase  the  plenty  of  a  man’s  coming 
days  and  add  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  present. 

The  life  insurance  agent  is  the  intermediary  in  this  vital  transaction 
between  the  present  and  the  future.  His  visit  to-day,  and  two  days  from 
now,  and  next  week,  may  not  be,  in  the  rush  of  business,  particularly 
welcome,  but  the  time  is  likely  to  come  when  a  matured  policy  will  be  a 
godsend,  and  the  agent’s  work  will  be  justified  to  the  utmost.  The  agent 
who  is  most  successful  is  he  who  realizes  this ;  who  knows  that  he  is  not 
asking  a  favor  of  a  man  when  he  requests  him  to  sign  an  insurance  ap¬ 
plication,  who  possesses  the  confidence  born  of  the  knowledge  that  he  is 
putting  a  far-reaching  benefit  in  the  way  of  the  man  whom  he  solicits. 
This  agent  is  enthusiastic  over  life  insurance,  and  he  imparts  his  enthu¬ 
siasm  to  others.  Enthusiasm !  It  is  the  great  lever  in  our  business,  the 
potent  element  in  the  combination  which  unlocks  the  gateway  to  success. 
Enthusiasm  generates  energy;  in  a  word,  it  is  the  quality  which  makes 
the  difference  of  a  place  in  the  rank  and  file  and  a  position  at  the  top. 
Point  out  to  me  a  successful  man  and  I  will  point  out  one  who  loves  his 
work  and  finds  his  happiness  in  it. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


137 


Yet,  it  is  well  to  be  more  specific  than  this  in  attempting  to  indicate 
the  road  to  success  in  the  insurance  business.  I  will  suppose  that  a 
young  man  has  been  inspired  with  the  right  spirit  and  starts  out  to  de¬ 
vote  his  life  to  insurance.  In  the  first  place,  what  are  the  possibilities 
of  this  industry  —  what  can  the  worker  hope  for  in  the  matter  of  pecun¬ 
iary  reward  ?  If  he  is  merely  an  average  man,  of  fair  ability  and  fair 
energy,  he  will  be  able  to  make,  after  he  has  gained  some  experience, 
about  two  thousand  dollars  a  year.  It  is  true  that  a  prominent  insurance 
official  stated  in  a  speech  that  the  annual  income  of  the  average  insur¬ 
ance  agent  was  hardly  a  thousand  dollars,  but  this  is  misleading,  for  the 
reason  that  there  are  many  men  throughout  the  country  who  solicit 
insurance  as  a  side  issue.  Not  devoting  their  entire  time  to  the  busi¬ 
ness,  their  earnings  are  naturally  small.  From  the  sum  of  two  thousand 
dollars  earned  by  the  man  in  the  ranks,  the  compensation  of  insurance 
agents  reaches  the  amount  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  or  more. 
The  men  whose  incomes  approximate  the  latter  figure  are  generally 
agents  who  control  many  other  agents  in  a  large  territory,  receiving  a 
percentage  on  the  business  of  the  latter,  and  at  the  same  time  writing 
much  personal  business  There  are  a  number  of  instances  -of  general 
agents  soliciting  personally  two  or  three  million  dollars  of  insurance  a 
year;  in  one  or  two  cases  the  sum  has  reached  to  the  amount  of  five  mil¬ 
lion  dollars.  Some  remarkably  successful  insurance  men  do  not  care  to 
take  general  agencies,  preferring  to  devote  themselves  exclusively  to 
personal  solicitation. 

The  men  who  commend  themselves  to  the  companies  for  whom  they 
solicit,  hold  the  situation  in  their  own  hands ;  they  can  remain  field-men, 
or  active  solicitors,  if  they  so  will,  or  they  can  have  positions  in  the 
home  office.  The  ablest  men  are  made  managers  of  agencies,  instruct¬ 
ors  of  agents,  superintendents  of  agents,  and  vice-presidents;  occasion¬ 
ally  one  who  has  worked  his  way  up  from  the  bottom  is  called  to  the 

presidency  of  a  society.  All  of  the  good  men  may  be  sure  of  berths  for 

( 

life.  The  company  to  which  they  have  devoted  their  best  years  in  earnest 
work  will,  in  return,  be  loyal  to  them.  For  the  man  starting  out  without 
capital,  with  no  resources  but  his  brain  and  energy,  I  regard  the  insur¬ 
ance  business  as  one  of  the  most  remunerative  and  satisfactory  on  earth. 

The  Life  Insurance  field  is  not  overcrowded  as  are  the  learned  pro¬ 
fessions.  There  are  probably  fifty  men  who  would  take  out  insurance, 
if  the  matter  were,  brought  to  their  attention  in  the  right  way,  to  one 
who  is  actually  approached.  Another  important  phase  of  the  matter  is 
that  the  agent’s  material  is  constantly  freshening.  Every  year,  hun¬ 
dreds  of  thousands  of  young  men  are  getting  married  and  arriving 
at  an  age  when  they  can  be  made  to  understand  that  insurance  is  a  proper 
orovision  for  the  future.  At  the  same  time,  the  hosts  of  men  who  have 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


138 

already  Deen  insured  offer  a  field  which  is  still  productive.  They  have 
been  educated  to  the  insurance  idea;  many  of  them  are  themselves  enthu¬ 
siastic;  as  their  incomes  increase  they  want  to  take  out  more  insurance. 
Competition  is  a  minor  factor  in  life  insurance.  The  agent  who  first 
broaches  insurance  to  a  man  and  establishes  himself  on  a  friendly  basis 
with  him  is  almost  always  the  one  who  gets  the  business.  There  are  so 
many  men  to  solicit  that  it  is  not  necessary,  and  rarely  pays,  to  attempt, 
to  make  some  other  agent’s  prospect  your  own.  Another  advantage  of 
the  insurance  business  is  that  it  cannot  be  hurt  by  industrial  combina¬ 
tions,  as  is  that  of  most  other  salesmen.  Furthermore,  the  insurance 
man  need  not  sit  in  an  office  and  wait  for  business,  as  lawyers  and  doc¬ 
tors  must.  He  makes  his  own  work;  whether  it  is  little  or  great  depends 
upon  his  own  efforts. 

Enthusiasm,  as  I  have  said,  is  the  steam  within  the  boiler,  but  energy 
is  the  locomotive  which  carries  the  insurance  man  farther  and  farther 
along  the  railway  of  achievement.  Energy  counts  for  about  ten  times 
as  much  as  brilliancy  in  insurance.  The  brilliant  man  cannot  be  a  suc¬ 
cess  without  energy,  while  the  energetic  man  can  be,  and  often  is,  a 
great  success  without  brilliancy.  I  am  willing  to  say  unhesitatingly  to 
the  young  man  of  intelligence  and  energy:  Go  into  the  life  insurance 
business.  It  is  an  occupation  in  which  nothing  depends  upon  luck  or 
favor,  but  all  upon  yourself. 

The  first  move  of  the  beginner  is  to  call  upon  the  general  agent  of 
some  strong  association  in  his  locality.  The  agent  will  be  glad  to  see 
him.  He  will  explain  the  different  policies,  give  him  a  rate-book,  and 
show  him  how  to  compute  premiums  according  to  age.  Then  the  fledg¬ 
ling  starts  out.  If  he  has  prosperous  friends,  he  naturally  calls  first 
upon  them,  but  friends  do  not  go  very  far,  after  all.  The  bulk  of  busi¬ 
ness  will  be  done  with  strangers.  The  beginner  must  not  be  discouraged 
if  his  first  efforts  seem  fruitless.  March  is  commonly  a  bleak  and  blus¬ 
tering  month,  but  is  always  followed  by  May  and  June  and  the  summer 
harvest.  Our  business  cannot  be  learned  in  a  few  weeks  or  months. 
There  are  plenty  of  disappointments  at  the  start.  Men  whom  the  young 
agent  feels  sure  of  getting  will  often  put  him  off  indefinitely,  or  fail  him 
altogether,  but  his  efforts  are  not  by  any  means  fruitless  on  this  account. 
He  is  learning  something  every  day,  and  after  a  while  first  one  and  then 
another  of  his  string  of  prospects  will  capitulate.  He  is  beginning  to 
gather  in  the  crop  from  the  seeds  sown  in  desolate  March  and  April. 
Meanwhile  he  is  sowing  more  seed.  From  this  time  on  he  will  be  in  the 
midst  of  a  continuous  seedtime  and  harvest.  But  the  gleaning  depends, 
of  course,  upon  the  extent  and  efficiency  of  the  planting. 

A  great  fault  of  the  average  agent  is  his  proneness  to  waste  time. 
So  numerous  are  the  opportunities  to  while  away  hours  in  idleness  that 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


139 


the  insurance  man  does  it  almost  unconsciously.  It  would  be  well  for 
him  if  he  did  not  have  the  handling  of  his  own  time ;  if,  for  example,  he 
had  to  begin  at  seven  or  eight  o’clock  in  the  morning  and  work  until  five 
or  six  at  night,  as  do  most  men..  Many  agents,  furthermore,  waste  time 
and  energy  by  a  more  or  less  mistaken  application  of  them.  A  large 
number  of  solicitors  start  out  with  the  idea  that  in  order  to  write  an  ap¬ 
plication  the  prospective  applicant  must  be  seen  many  times,  and  gradu¬ 
ally  be  made  to  realize  his  need  for  life  insurance,  and  that  some  day  — 
some  time  in  the  future  — he  will  be  ready  to  be  picked. While  it  is 
true  that  there  are  cases  where  it  is  only  the  constant  dripping  of  water 
upon  the  stone  that  will  do  the  work,  these  are  exceptional. 

'  If  the  agent  has  carefully  studied  the  prospect’s  position  and 
needs,  if  he  is  thoroughly  posted  himself  and  is  determined  and  enthusi¬ 
astic  enough  to  carry  conviction,  there  is  no  reason  why  one  good  inter¬ 
view,  discreetly  timed  and  carried  out  in  a  business-like  manner,  should 
not  secure  the  application,  if  it  is  obtainable.  I  believe  the  successful 
/  agent  of  to-day  very  rarely  requires  more  than  two  interviews,  and  knows 
that  if  he  cannot  then  land  his  man  it  is  better  for  him  to  look  elsewhere 
for  results.  In  this  connection  it  seems  pertinent  to  quote  what  one  of 
our  most  successful  managers  said  to  me,  in  talking  of  his  methods :  — 

I  never  have  very  many  cases  on  a  string  at  a  time.  I  take  just  a  few 
—  three  or  four.  Then  I  sit  down  in  my  office  and  think  hard  about  one 
of  them.  I  go  over  all  the  ground  and  practically  insure  the  man  in  my 
mind,  and  then  I  go  right  out  after  him  and  make  the  effort  of  my  life  to 
get  his  application.  Then  I  take  up  the  next  man  I  have  in  mind  in  the 
same  way.^^ 

That  man  is  thorough.  He  thinks  out  the  details  of  his  work  care¬ 
fully  and  earnestly  before  he  performs  it,  and  through  this  habit  of  seri¬ 
ous  thinking,  devel'ops  originality  in  methods.  The  agent  who  devises 
ingenious  ways  of  getting  introductions  or  audiences,  or  happy  methods 
of  presenting  his  subject  and  leading  up  to  the  application,  is  the  agent 
who  rs  always  on  hand  with  results  and  new  ideas  to  work  upon  in  the 
future.  He  is  the  man  with  not  too  many  irons  in  the  fire;  the  man  who 
does  one  thing  thoroughly  and  with  all  of  his  might. 

There  .is  much  in  the  way  a  statement  is  put.  Present  your  whole 
case,  but  be  as  concise  and  simple  as  possible  about  it.  Try  to  save  the 
time  of  the  applicant.  Remember  that  words  are  like  sunbeams,  the 
more  they  are  condensed  the  deeper  they  burn.  Put  the  matter  in  an 
attractive  light.  The  most  successful  agents  do  not  tell  a  man  that  it  is 
his  duty  to  insure  his  life  ;  that  he  has  got  to  die  some  day  and  it  is  crim¬ 
inal  not  to  provide  for  his  wife  and  children;  that  statistics  show  that 
eighty-five  per  cent  of  men  engaged  in  business  fail.  Not  a  bit  of  it! 


140 


BUvSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


They  paint  a  bright  picture.  They  talk  to  a  man  about  saving  his  earn¬ 
ings  for -future  years.  All  that  the  other  agents  say  may  be  true,  but  it 
is  not  pleasant  to  hear.  Hope  is  a  more  powerful  lever  than  fear. 

The  agent  who  does  not  use  a  great  deal  gf  diplomacy  will  not  be 
eminently  successful.  Many  schemes  fail  in  detail,  and  unless  he  can 
gather  together  the  broken  threads  and  resume  his  efforts  cheerfully,  he 
will  be  defeated  in  many  cases  where  success  is  possible.  But  temporary 
defeat  does  not  dishearten  the  agent  who  has  plenty  of  plans  to  put  in 
place  of  plans  that  fail.  The  very  successful  agent  is  greater  than  his 
achievements.  No  turn  of  affairs  takes  him  by  surprise  or  finds  him  un¬ 
prepared  to  make  such  changes  as  circumstances  require.  He  knows 
how  to  stick  tenaciously  to  the  subject  in  hand  and  will  not  allow 
it  to  be  side-tracked.  He  knows  how  to  do  the  talking  himself,  and 
to  anticipate  and  answer  objections  before  they  are  made.  He  knows 
that  he  is  after  an  application;  he  keeps  his  mind  on  that  all  the  time, 
determined  to  get  it ;  he  is  adroit  enough  to  turn  every  suggestion  to  his 
own  advantage,  and  he  comes  away  with  the  thing  he  went  for.  He 
knows  that  the  only  thing  that  counts  for  anything  is  actual  results; 
that  promises  or  prospects  will  not  buy  food  and  clothing;  that  all  his 
work  and  all  his  eloquence  amounts  to  nothing  if  he  cannot  persuade 
men  to  actually  insure  their  lives. 

Never  approach  a  man  like  a  supplicant  craving  a  favor.  If  you  have 
an  apologetic  feeling,  get  rid  of  it.  There  is  no  cause  for  it.  The  con¬ 
trary  feeling  —  the  feeling  that  you  are  bringing  a  benefit  to  the  man 
you  visit,  is  your  rock  of  strength.  A  man  sets  his  own  limitation ;  the 
cause  of  our  failure  lies  within  ourselves.  Dare  to  attempt.  If  the 
little  fledgling  stayed  always  in  its  nest  and  never  tried  the  wings  God 
gave,  it  would  never  know  that  it  could  fly,  or  what  its  wings  were  for. 
It  is  very  true,  as  Schiller  has  said,  that  every  man  stamps  his  value 
on  himself.  Many  men  achieve  only  moderate  results  from  mere  lack 
of  confidence  in  themselves,  and  because  they  aim  too  low. 

The  determination  to  do  one  thing  and  do  it  well,  the  concentration  of 
all  your  forces  upon  the  accomplishment  of  that  thing,  to  the  exclusion 
of  whatever  may  tend  to  draw  away  any  part  of  your  ability  or  attention ; 
the  following  up  of  the  one  thing  chosen,  with  patience  and  persistency; 
that  is  the  essence  of  success;  that  is  concentration  in  its  broader  mean¬ 
ing  as  applied  to  the  pursuit  of  a  lifetime;  that  is  the  concentration 
which  is  power,  and  which  compels  all  your  environments  to  subscribe 
to  your  success;  which  sifts  out  that  which  is  inharmonious  and  unnec¬ 
essary  to  your  plan  of  work,  and  harmonizes  that  which  is  adverse  and 
yet  essential.  This  is  the  force  that  gives  to  life  a  definite  aim,  and  to 
each  his  individality ;  which  makes  of  us  men  and  women  of  purpose  and 
character,  working  out  some  definite  problem  and  proving  our  usefulness. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


I4I 

The  rule  is  that  if  a  man  wishes  to  be  successful  he  must  choose  his 
vocation  in  life  and  must  concentrate  all  his  energies  upon  it.  If  he  has 
selected  life  insurance,  life  insurance  it  must  be.  Having  selected  life 
insurance  as  your  business,  go  right  ahead,  working  with  all  your  might, 
with  one  end  in  view,  and  sooner  or  later  that  end  will  be  attained. 
Cut  off  every  lesser  interest  that  takes  away  any  of  your  energy  from 
your  chief  interest.  If  there  is  any  business  in  the  world  that  pays  well 
for  singleness  of  purpose  in  its  pursuit,  it  is  certainly  life  insurance. 
Look  at  our  leading  agents  to-day  and  see  what  they  have  accomplished 
in  ten  or  fifteen  years.  Hundreds  of  them  have  built  up  independent 
incomes  from  very  small  beginnings. 

Be  systematic.  Accident  or  spasmodic  effort  in  the  life  insurance 
agent  may  secure  an  occasional  application,  and  if  it  does  it  ought  to  be 
accepted  with  thanks  and  ascribed  to  good  fortune.  But  the  steadily 
flowing  and  constantly  growing  business  —  a  clientele  that  multiplies 
and  increases  itself  by  influences  set  in  motion  in  thoroughly  directed 
daily  work  —  that  comes  only  to  the  man  who  works  systematically.  In 
the  hour  when  you  sit  down  quietly  and  concentrate  your  mind  on  plans 
and  their  execution,  you  must  train  the  mental  eye  to  see  clearly  the 
results  desired.  And  these  results  must  be  definite.  For  the  solicitor, 
it  must  be  Mr.  White’s  application  to-day,  Mr.  Black’s  to-morrow,  and 
Mr.  Jones’s  the  next  day.  Never  an  indefinite  something — never  a 
hazy  idea  that  before  the  week  is  done  he  will  have  somebody’s  applica¬ 
tion.  That  will  not  stock  the  larder  nor  pay  the  rent. 

I  often  think  what  an  excellent  thing  it  would  be  if  we  could  have  a 
school  where  men  could  come  and  learn  How  to  Get  Applications.  But 
that  is  a  knowledge  not  to  be  acquired  as  we  get  our  Greek  and  mathe¬ 
matics.  A  man  may  sit  down  and  study  the  principles  of  life  insurance, 
and  the  various  plans  of  the  various  companies,  and  the  arguments  pro 
and  con^  and  be  greatly  benefited  thereby;  but  there  is  something  he 
must  possess  that  is  not  taught  in  schools,  namely:  tact,  and  knowledge 
of  human  nature.  He  must  know  how  to  handle  men  and  mold  them 
to  his  opinion.  He  must  have  the  skill  to  create  a  good  impression  at 
the  start,  the  quick  perception  to  grasp  the  favorable  moment  and  the 
decision  to  close  the  bargain  on  the  spot. 

The  agent  who  wishes  to  be  most  successful  must  have  a  full  knowl 
edge  of  the  man  to  whom  he  is  talking  and  of  all  the  conditions  that  sur¬ 
round  him.  He  must  know  all  about  his  family,  the  number  and  ages 
of  his  children,  his  business,  his  annual  income,  his  wealth.  Then  the 
contract,  if  intelligently  presented,  can  be  made  to  cover  the  case  so 
completely  that  the  listener  will  be  sure  to  feel  that  he  would  be  very  un¬ 
wise  not  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  offered;  more  than  likely 
he  will  feel  that  the  subject  of  life  insurance  has  never  before  been  pre- 


142 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


sented  to  him  with  such  force  and  directness.  That  is  the  vital  moment, 
the  time  to  secure  the  signature  to  the  application.  From  the  very  mo¬ 
ment  the  conversation  begins,  the  agent  should  keep  in  mind  that  the 
one  thing  that  he  wants  is  the  signature  to  the  application.  Without  that, 
nothing  has  been  accomplished,  even  though  the  benefits  of  life  insur¬ 
ance  may  be  discussed  for  hours. 

My  experience  and  observation  confirm  me  in  the  opinion  that  the 
thing  lacking  in  most  of  those  who  make  a  trial  of  the  business  is  the 
knack  of  closing  a  bargain  when  the  time  is  ripe;  either  through  not 
knowing  how  to  do  it,  or  not  recognizing  when  to  do  it.  There  is  a  time 
to  pull  an  application  blank  out  of  the  pocket,  fill  it  in,  and  get  the  ap¬ 
plicant’s  signature,  just  as  much  as  there  is  a  time  to  call  upon  him,  and 
a  time  to  put  in  one’s  most  telling  arguments.  I  have  known  many  men 
who  have  easily  h-ad  the  power  to  make  their  listeners  not  only  believe 
that  life  insurance  is  a  most  excellent  thing  in  general,  but  actually  feel 
their  own  personal  need  of  it  at  that  particular  time ;  and  yet  those  men 
have  failed  to  prosper  because  they  lacked  pressure  at  the  proper 
moment.  Call  it  tact,  if  you  will,  or  what  you  will,  but  certainly  much 
of  a  successful  agent’s  success  is  due  to  his  knowledge  of  when  and  how 
to  close  a  deal. 

Some  agents,  like  would-be  salesmen  in  other  lines,  do  not  know 
when  to  stop  talking.  Talking  is  like  playing  the  harp;  there  is  as 
much  in  laying  the  hands  on  the  strings  to  stop  their  vibration  as  in 
twanging  them  to  bring  out  their  music.  The  agent  who,  when  he  sees 
that  his  listener  is  convinced,  does  not.  stop  talking  and  immediately 
proceed  to  clinch  the  bargain  by  a  signed  application  with  a  binding 
receipt  delivered,  and  an  appointment  for  a  medical  examination,  simply 
leaves  some  more  clever  man  to  gather  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  and  goes 
on  wondering  why  he  does  not  make  more  money  as  a  result  of  the  work 
he  does.  The  man  of  ordinarily  keen  perception  should  soon  learn  to 
recognize  the  proper  moment  and  secure  the  prize  that  he  is  after. 
Some  men  master  this  most  essential  part  of  the  business  more  easily 
than  others.  It  means,  in  reality,  the  knowledge  which  enables  us  to 
understand  the  other  man  —  the  knowledge  of  human  nature.  It  can  be 
acquired  only  by  experience,  which,  if  it  is  a  hard  master,  teaches 
effectively.  The  realization  of  one  blunder  which  costs  an  application 
will  help  to  close  the  next  contract  when  the  moment  is  propitious. 

You  can  become  a  successful  life  insurance  agent  only  by  practice. 
The  first  applications  are  hard  to  obtain,  but  each  success  paves  the  way 
to  further  success.  Be  faithful  to  the  work  and  your  days  will  be  pros¬ 
perous.  Money  enough  for  all  reasonable  desires  will  be  yours,  and 
many  men  will  know  you  for  a  friend.  It  is  rather  an  interesting  fact, 
that  no  matter  how  hard  a  man  may  appear  to  wriggle  and  try  to  draw 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


143 


awav  from  the  soft  but  certain  pressure  of  the  agent,  he  is  proud  of  hav¬ 
ing  taken  out  insurance  and  mentions  it  to  everybody  he  meets.  He 
rightfully  regards  it  as  just  so  much  of  an  addition  to  his  estate,  and  he 
has  a  very  friendly  feeling  for  the  man  who  insisted  that  he  should  give 
the  ihatter  attention.  This  shows  that  most  of  the  objections  encoun¬ 
tered  by  life  insurance  agents  are  simulated  and  fictitious,  springing 
from  the  instinctive  desire  to  put  off  till  to-morrow  what  should  be 
done  to-day.  Every  man  knows  in  his  heart  that  life  insurance  is  one 
of  the  finest  things  on  earth. 


SOME  RULES  FOR  SUCCESS  IN  THE  INSURANCE 

BUSINESS 

By  OLIVER  L.  BROWN 

New  Jersey  Manager  for  The  Bankers'  Life  Insurance  Company  of  New  York 

The  question  is  often  asked  whether  life  insurance  work  contains  pos¬ 
sibilities  for  the  young  man’s  future  equal  to  those  of  other  profes¬ 
sional  or  business  occupations.  In  this  connection  the  statement 
is  made  that  its  agency  recruits  are  largely  those  who  have  failed  in 
other  lines.  If  it  be  true  that  insurance  workers  are  often  of  the  kind 
mentioned,  it  seems  to  argue  well  for  the  chances  of  the  man  of  higher 
qualities,  who  enters  the  business  early  in  life,  with  the  purpose  in  mak¬ 
ing  it  a  study  and  devoting  himself  to  the  attainment  of  success  in  this 
sphere.  Perhaps  it  is  this  theory  which  has  induced  the  coming  of  the 
large  number  of  men  of  ability  who  now  devote  all  of  their  time  to  life 
insurance  work,  for  it  will  hardly  be  disputed  that  the  standard  of  indi¬ 
vidual  character  is  now  much  higher  than  ever  before ;  especially  is  this 
true  in  the  agency  department. 

The  many  departments  offer  much  latitude  for  choice  of  work.  The 
man  of  mathematical  turn  may  look  to  the  position  of  actuary  as  a  goal 
worthy  of  his  efforts ;  one  whose  talents  fit  him  for  success  as  a  salesman 
finds  almost  unlimited  possibilities  awaiting  him  as  a  solicitor;  if  one  has 
ability  in  managing  men,  the  agency  department  offers  excellent  posi¬ 
tions  as  general  managers,  general  agents,  superintendents,  and  the 
like ;  if  great  constructive  genius  is  possessed,  let  him  look  to  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  new  companies  or  the  management  of  old;  if  he  is  a  physician, 
the  position  of  chief  medical  examiner  is  not  unattractive;  great  clerical 
ability  may  lead  one  to  the  secretary’s  chair. 

To  the  young  man  beginning  his  life  insurance  career,  advice  upon  a 
few  lines  may  well  be  given.  In  the  first  place,  do  not  begin  with  the 
purpose  of  temporary  employment  in  mind.  First  become  convinced 


144 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


that  the  profeSvSion  is  worthy  of  your  best  life  efforts.  Without  this  con¬ 
viction  you  cannot  hope  for  success.  Having  reached  this  conclusion, 
study  every  detail  of  your  profession  carefully,  and  do  not  let  the  least  of 
your  studies  be  that  of  men. 

You  should  look  well  to  your  personal  appearance,  which  is  a  power¬ 
ful  assistant  to  the  agent  in  his  influence  upon  the  mental  processes  of 
the  man  whom  he  desires  to  insure.  The  address  of  the  agent  should  at 
all  times  be  polite,  but  his  manner  positive  and  firm.  In  presenting  the 
attractions  of  his  policy,  he  should  emphasize  only  those  points  which  are 
certain,  and  avoid  discussion  of  estimates,  which  are  generally  mis¬ 
leading  and  consequently  never  conducive  to  the  permanent  success  of 
the  agent.  He  should  endeavor  to  so  treat  every  man  he  insures  that  he 
will  have  made  him  his  personal  friend  and  an  assistant  to  him  in  finding 
future  business.  He  should  study  the  methods  of  successful  solicitors, 
and  adopt  such  of  those  methods  as  seem  likely  to  better  his  own  meth¬ 
ods.  When,  at  the  end  of  any  week,  he  finds  that  he  has  done  much 
more  profitable  work  than  usual,  he  should  remember  that  all  weeks  are 
not  good  ones,  and  should  spend  no  more  than  he  would  have  done 
had  his  profits  been  much  lighter;  This  principle  is  important,  for  the 
profits  of  life  insurance  agents  are  so  variable,  and  periods  of  depressing 
return  so  certain  to  occur,  that  he  who  spends  his  profits  as  he  makes 
them,  digs  a  pit  into  which  he  will  certainly  fall. 

The  agent  should  let  every  effort  be  for  his  company’s  success. 
While  it  is  the  individuality  of  the  agent  that  induces  business,  the 
applicant  seldom  knows  this  fact,  and  never  acknowledges  it  to  another. 
The  company’s  success  in  your  territory  means  your  success,  and  few 
individuals  can  hope  for  eminence  save  as  servants  for  their  companies. 

Do  not  quarrel  with  the  decision  of  the  medical  examiner  of  your 
company.  If  he  rejects  an  applicant,  feel  assured  that  he,  as  an  officer 
of  your  company,  does  so  because  it  is  necessary.  Remember  that  he 
wishes  business  to  be  added  to  the  books  as  much  as  you  do,  and  that 
your  interest  is  identical  with  his.  Comply  with  the  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions  of  your  company,  though  personal  hardship  to  yourself  may  res  rlt. 
Few  general  rules  fail  to  work  individual  hardship,  but  the  general  rule 
is  a  necessity. 

Do  not  accept  money  advances  from  your  company.  Advances  tend 
to  lessen  effort  by  destroying  the  feeling  of  uncertainty  which  is  a  stim¬ 
ulus  to  the  right  kind  of  man.  If  you  work  faithfully  and  save  syste¬ 
matically,  you  will  not  need  them,  and  if  you  receive  them  and  do  not  so 
work,  the  money  given  you  will  probably  prove  a  bar  to  advancement, 
by  giving  you  the  reputation  of  requiring  watching  by  the  company’s 
managers,  or  by  weighting  you  with  debt  and  discouragement  and  un¬ 
fitting  you  to  put  forth  your  best  efforts. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


145 


One  other  practice  the  agent  should  religiously  observe.  He  should 
never  ^Hwist.^^  This  term  is  applied  to  the  practice  of  disparaging 
the  worth  of  a  rival  company,  discrediting  its  policies,  its  agents,  and 
the  like.  Why  it  should  be  deemed  necessary,  in  order  to  do  busi¬ 
ness  for  his  own  company,  that  an  agent  should  first  tear  to  tatters 
the  reputation  of  another,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  profession. 
It  is  time  wasted  which  might  be  well  employed.  It  not  only  is  de¬ 
trimental  to  the  business,  but  equally  so  to  the  interests  of  the  agent 
who  employs  these  tactics. 

The  insurance  man  should  employ  every  moment  not  otherwise 
occupied,  in  learning  things  about  his  policy  and  the  policies  of  other 
companies,  about  the  insurance  business  in  general  and  the  relation  of 
his  company  to  his  competitors,  and,  in  fact,  should  leave  nothing  un¬ 
done  to  give  himself  a  most  thorough  knowledge  of  his  business  and  of 
methods  which  may  tend  to  make  him  more  successful  in  its  practices. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  rules  which  I  think  should  govern  a  man’s 
work  in  a  business  which  is  fast  becoming  of  great  importance  in 
American  economics. 


Lessee. —  One  to  whom  a  lease  is  given. 

Lessor.  —  One  who  makes  a  lease. 

Letter  of  Advice. —  One  giving  notice  of  a  shipment. 

Letter  of  Credit.  —  A  letter  of  credit  is  a  letter  addressed  to  a 
correspondent  at  a  distance,  requesting  him  to  pay  a  sum  therein 
specified  to  a  person  named,  or  to  hold  money  at  his  disposal,  and 
authorizing  the  correspondent  to  reimburse  himself  for  such  payment, 
either  by  debiting  it  in  account  between  the  parties  or  by  drawing  on 
the  first  party  for  the  amount.  These  documents  are  used  principally 
by  travelers.  They  are  issued  for  any  reasonable  amount  by  the 
banks  of  large  cities,  payable  in  sums  to  suit  the  holder.  The  amount 
of  the  letter  of  credit  is  deposited  with  the  home  banker.  A  list  of 
banks  which  will  advance  money  thereon  is  given  on  the  back  of  the 
letter.  The  signature  of  the  traveler  or  payee  serves  as  a  means  of 
identification. 

Letter  of  Marque. —  The  commission  authorizing  a  privateer  to 
make  war  upon  or  seize  the  property  of  another  nation. 

Lien. —  A  hold  or  claim  on  property  to  secure  a  debt. 

Lighterage. —  Payment  for  unloading  ships  by  lighters. 

Limited  Companies  are  commercial  organizations  which  limit  the 
extent  of  liability  that  stockholders  can  incur. 

Liquidation. —  Settlement  of  liabilities. 

13—10 


1 


146  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

Lloyd’s. —  A  famous  shipping-insurance  corporation  at  the  Royal 
Exchange,  London,  composed  of  merchants,  brokers,  ship-owners, 
and  underwriters.  Its  purpose  is  to  promote  commerce  especially  by 
marine  insurance  and  the  publication  of  shipping  news. 

Manifest.  —  A  list  of  a  ship’s  cargo  and  passengers. 

Manor. —  In  English  law,  a  freehold  estate  held  by  the  lord  of 
the  manor,  who  is  entitled  to  maintain  a  tenure  between  himself  and 
the  copyhold  tenants,  whereby  a  sort  of  feudal  relation  is  kept  up  be¬ 
tween  them.  Manors  closely  resemble  the  feudal  estates  held  in 
Scotland  by  all  proprietors  of  land.  Manors  of  the  English  type  were 
granted  in  the  U.  S.  in  several  of  the  colonies,  on  such  terms  that 
property  right  carried  right  of  jurisdiction.  In  1636  the  proprietor 
of  Maryland  ordered  that  every  grant  of  2,000  acres  should  be  made 
a  manor. 

Martial  Law. —  A  system  of  government  under  the  direction  of 
military  authority.  It  is  an  arbitrary  kind  of  law,  proceeding  directly 
from  the  military  power  and  having  no  immediate  constitutional 
or  legislative  sanction.  It  is  only  justified  by  necessity,  and  super¬ 
sedes  all  civil  government.  Suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
is  essentially  a  declaration  of  martial  law.  In  this  case,^^  says 
Blackstone,  the  nation  parts  with  a  portion  of  liberty  to  secure  its 
permanent  welfare,  and  suspected  persons  may  then  be  arrested 
without  cause  assigned. 

MEASURES. 

(For  Brick  Work,  see  under  Brick.) 

Stone  is  measured  by  the  cord.  To  find  the  contents  of  a  pile  of 
stone,  multiply  by  the  length,  breadth,  and  thickness,  in  feet,  and 
divide  the  product  by  128.  The  result  will  be  the  number  of  cords. 

Board  Measure. —  i.  For  boards  not  more  than  one  inch  thick, 
multiply  the  length  in  feet  by  the  width  in  inches,  and  divide  the 
product  by  12. 

2.  For  boards  more  than  one  inch  thick,  multiply  the  length  in 
feet  by  the  width  and  thickness  in  inches. 

3.  To  find  the  width  of  a  tapering  board,  measure  it  at  the  center, 
or  take  one-half  the  sum  of  the  widths  at  the  two  ends. 

Lath  Work,  see  under  Lath. 

Wall  Paper  is  sold  by  the  roll,  which  is  18  inches  wide.  Single 
rolls  are  24  feet  long  and  double  rolls  48  feet.  Part  of  a  roll  is 
counted  the  same  as  a  whole  roll.  The  area  of  the  walls  is  measured 
in  feet,  making  deductions  for  openings.  It  is  necessary  to  find  the 
number  of  rolls  actually  used  in  order  to  ascertain  the  cost  of 
papering. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


147 


Painting  is  estimated  by  the  square  yard.  Double  measure  is 
usually  allowed  for  carved  moldings. 

Kalsomining  is  measured  like  painting,  by  the  square  yard. 

Glazing  is  done  at  so  much  per  light,  according  to  size. 

Shingling. —  The  average  width  of  shingles  is  four  inches.  They 
are  packed  in  bunches  of  250  each.  Four  bunches,  or  1,000  shingles, 
will  lay  100  square  feet  of  surface,  allowing  four  inches  to  the 
weather.  This  is  called  a  square  of  shingles.  They  require  four- 
penny  nails. 

Linear  Measure 


12  Inches  (in.)  =  i  Foot. . . 
3  Feet=  I  Yard . yd. 


5  >4  Yards,  or 
16^  Feet 
320  Rods,  or 
1760  Yds.,  or 
5280  ft. 


==  I  Rod 


I  Mile 


ft. 

.rd. 


mi. 


Surveyors'  Linear  Measure 


7.92 

Inches  —  i  Link. 

. 1. 

25 

Links  =  I  Rod .  . 

. . .  .rd. 

4 

Rods  =  I  Chain. 

. ch, 

80 

Chains,  or  \ 

320 

rds.,  or  r  =  i 

Mile. . . 

8000 

1.  ) 

In  the  sale  of  goods,  the  linear  yard  is  divided  into  halves,  quar¬ 
ters,  and  eighths;  in  estimating  duties  in  the  Custom  House,  it  is 
divided  into  tenths  and  hundredths. 


Mariners’  Linear  Measure 

9  Inches  =  i  Span . sp. 

8  Spans,  or  6  ft  -=  i  Fathom . . fath. 

120  Fathoms  =  i  Cable’s  Length . c.  1. 

7^  C.  Lengths,  or  \ 

880  fath.,  or  r  =  ^  Common  Mile. 

5280  ft.  ^ 

No/e. —  The  Nautical  or  Geographical  mile,  or  Knot,  is  6086.7  ftp  or  about  1.15I 
common  or  statute  miles. 

Square  Measure 

144  sq.  Inches  =  i  sq.  Foot . sq.  ft. 

9  sq.  Feet=  i  sq.  Yard . sq.  yd. 

30^4  sq.  Yards  ==  i  sq.  Rod . sq.  rd. 


160  sq.  Rods  =  I  Acre . A. 

640  Acres  =  i  sq.  Mile . sq.  mi. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


14b 


SuRVEYOPs’  Square  Measure 

625  Links  ==  I  Pole . P. 

16  Poles  ==  I  sq.  Chain . sq.  ch. 

10  sq.  Chains  ==T  Acre . A. 

640  Acres  =  i  sq.  Mile . sq.  mi. 

36  sq.  Miles  =  I  Township . tp. 


U.  S.  Public  Lands 

1  Township  =  6  mi.  x  6  mi.  =  36  sq.  mi.  -=23,040  A. 

I  Section  -=  1  “  x  i  “  -=  i  “  “  =-  640  “ 

I  Half-Sec.  =  i  “  x  “  =  34  “  “  =  320  “ 

I  Quarter-Sec. =34  “  ^  34  “  =  34  “  “  =  160“ 

Note. — Nearly  all  the  land  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  north  of  the  Ohio 
River,  and  the  land  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  has  been  surveyed  and  platted  by 
the  U.  S.  Government.  The  method  of  survey  was  to  run  lines  north  and  south  par¬ 
allel  with  some  established  meridians,  called  principal  meridians;  these  lines  were 
crossed  at  right  angles  so  as  to  form  townships  of  six  miles  square. 


Cubic  or  Solid  Measure 

1728  Cubic  Inches  (cu.  in.)  =  i  Cubic  Foot . cu.  ft. 

27  Cubic  Feet  =  i  Cubic  Yard . cu.  yd. 

16  Cubic  Feet  =  i  Cord  Foot . cd.  ft. 

8  Cord  Feet  ) 

128  Cubic  Feet  \  ^  ^  . 

Note. —  A  pile  of  wood  4  feet  wide,  4  feet  high,  and  8  feet  long  contains  i  cord:  and 
a  cord  foot  is  i  foot  in  length  of  such  a  pile. 


Measures  of  Rock,  Earth,  etc. 

25  cubic  feet  of  sand  =  i  ton. 

18  cubic  feet  of  earth  =  i  ton. 

17  cubic  feet  of  clay  =  i  ton. 

13  cubic  feet  of  quartz,  unbroken  in  lode  =  i  ton. 

18  cubic  feet  of  gravel  or  earth,  before  digging  =  27  cubic  feet  when  dug. 

20  cubic  feet  of  quartz  broken  (of  ordinary  fineness  coming  from  the  hole)  =  i  ton 
contract  measurement. 


Circular  or  Angular  Measure 

60  Seconds  (")  =  i  Minute . '. 

60  Minutes  =  i  Degree.  . . °. 

360  Degrees  =  i  Circumference . C. 

Note. —  The  Standard  unit  of  the  circular  measure  is  the  degree.  Circular  or 
angular  measure  is  used  in  measuring  angles,  also  in  determining  latitude  and  longitude. 

A  Quadrant  is  one-fourth  of  a  circle,  or  90°. 

A  Sextant  is  one-sixth  of  a  circle,  or  60°. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


149 


Liquid  Measures 


4  Gills  (gi.)  =  I  Pint . pt. 

2  Pints  =  I  Quart . qt. 

4  Quarts  =  i  Gallon . gal. 

In  estimating  the  capacity  of  cisterns,  reservoirs,  etc. : 

313^  gal.  =  I  Barrel . bbl. 

63  gal.  =  I  Hogshead  . hhd. 


or,  I  hhd.  =  2  bbl.  =  63  gal.  =  252  qt.  =  504  pt. 

Note.  —  The  barrel  and  hogshead  are  not  fixed  measures,  but  vary  when  used  for 
commercial  purposes.  The  capacity  of  these  is  found  by  actual  measurement. 

Apothecaries’  Fluid  Measure 


60  Minims  (m)  =  i  Fluid  drachm . f  3 

8  Fluid  drachms  =  i  Fluid  ounce . . .  . .  .f  3 

16  Fluid  ounces  =  i  Pint . O. 

8  Pints  =  I  Gallon . Cong. 


Note. —  Cong,  stands  for  the  Latin  Congius,  a  gallon;  and  O.  for  Octavus,  one- 
eighth,  a  pint  being  one-eighth  of  a  gallon. 

A  common  teaspoon  holds  about  one  fluid  drachm.  In  this  measure  the  symbols 
precede  the  numbers  to  which  they  refer. 

Apothecaries’  Weight 


20  Grains  (gr.  xx)  =  i  Scruple . 9. 

3  Scruples  O  iij)  =  i  Dram . i3‘ 

8  Drams  (3  vijj)  =  i  Ounce . 3- 

12  Ounces  (3  xij)  =  i  Pound . lb. 


Note. —  Medicines  are  bought  in  quantities  by  Avoirdupois  weight;  thus,  curiously, 
being  bought  by  one  measure  and  sold  by  another. 

■  Dry  Measure 


2  Pints  (pt.)  =  T  Quart . qt. 

8  Quarts  =  i  Peck . pk. 

4  Pecks  =  I  Bushel . bu. 


Troy  Weight 

24  Grains  (gr.)  =  i  Pennyweight..pwt. 


20  Pennyweights  =  I  Ounce .  oz. 

12  Ounces  =  i  Pound .  lb. 


Diamond  Weight 

16  Parts  =  I  Carat  Grain. 

4  Carat  gr.=  i  Carat. 

I  Carat  =  3^  Troy  gr.,  nearly. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


150 


Assayers’  Weight 


I  Carat  =  10  pwt. 

I  Carat  gr.=  6o  Troy  gr. 

24  Carats  =  i  Troy  lb. 

Note. —  In  weighing  diamonds  and  other  gems,  the  unit  generally  employed  is  the 
Carat.  The  term  Carat  is  also  used  to  express  the  fineness  of  gold.  24  Carat  is  pure 
gold,  18  Carat  is  ^  pure  gold,  etc. 


Avoirdupois  Weight 


16  Ounces  (oz.)  =  i  Pound . .  .  .lb. 

100  Pounds  =  I  Hundredweight . cwt. 

20  Hundredweight,  or  2000  Pounds  =  i  Ton . T. 


Note. — The  Long  Ton  =  2,240  lbs.  It  is  used  in  weighing  some  coarser  articles,  as 
iron  and  coal  at  the  mines;  also  goods  on  which  duties  are  paid  at  the  U.  S.  Custom 
House. 


Following  are  some  approximate  measures: 

45  drops  of  water,  or  a  common  teaspoonful  =  i  fluid  drachm. 
A  common  tablespoonful  =  fluid  ounce. 

A  small  teacupful,  or  i  gill  =  4  fluid  ounces. 

A  pint  of  pure  water  =  i  pound. 

4  tablespoonfuls,  or  a  wine  glass  =  3^  gill. 

A  common-sized  tumbler  =  34  pint. 

Four  teaspoonfuls  =  i  tablespoonful. 


Approximate  Speed 


A  man  walks .  3  miles  per  hour. 

A  horse  trots .  7  “ 

A  horse  runs .  20  “ 

A  steamboat  sails . 18  “ 

A  sailing  vessel  sails . 10  “ 

Slow  rivers  flow .  3  “ 

Rapid  rivers  flow .  7  “ 

A  moderate  wind  blows  .  7  “ 

A  storm  moves . 36  “ 

A  hurricane  moves . 80  “ 

A  rifle  ball  moves  1,466  feet  per  second. 

Sound  moves  1,141  feet  per  second. 

Light  moves  192,000  miles  per  second. 

Electricity  moves  288,000  miles  per  second. 


t  i 


Used  by  Stationers  and  the  Paper  Trade 


24  Sheets  =  i  Quire . qr. 

20  Quires  =i  Ream . rm. 

480  Sheets  =  i  Ream. 

2  Reams  =  i  Bundle . bun. 

5  Bundles  =i  I  Bale . ^..B. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


In  Counting  Certain  Articles 


the  following  is  used :  — 

12  Units  =  I  Dozen . doz. 

12  Dozen  =  i  Gross .  gro. 

12  Gross  =  I  Great  Gross . G.  gro. 

20  Units  =  I  Score . ; . sc. 


151 


A  Book  Formed  of  Sheets  Folded 


In  2  leaves  is  called  a  Folio 


[(pages) 
and  makes  4  pp 


In  4 
In  8 
In  12 
In  16 
In  18 
In  24 


6  ( 
i  i 

a 
6  6 


<  i 
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t  i 
ti 
tt 


Quarto,  4to. 
Octavo,  8vo. 
Duodecimo,  12  mo. 
16  mo. 

18  mo. 

24  mo. 


t  t 

(  t 

tt 
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Ct 


8  pp 
16  pp 
24  pp 
32  PP 
36  PP 
48  pp 


Mensuration. —  The  process  of  measuring  lengths,  surface,  volume, 
and  capacity,  or  of  determining  the  same  by  measurement  and  calcu¬ 
lation.  Length  may  be  determined  by  mechanical  measurement;  surface 
and  solidity  are  determined  by  algebraical  and  geometrical  calcula¬ 
tions.  The  following  are  the  rules  for  calculating  the  most  important 
measurements :  — 

1.  To  find  the  circumference  of  a  circle,  multiply  the  diameter 
by  3.1416. 

2.  To  find  the  area  of  a  circle,  multiply  the  square  of  the  diame¬ 
ter  by  the  decimal  .7854. 

3.  To  find  the  circumference  of  an  ellipse,  multiply  half  the  sum 
of  the  two  diameters  by  3.1416. 

4.  To  find  the  area  of  an  ellipse,  multiply  the  longer  axis  or 
diameter  by  the  shorter,  and  the  product  by  the  decimal  .7854. 

5.  To  find  the  area  of  a  square,  multiply  one  side  by  itself. 

6.  To  find  the  area  of  a  rectangle,  multiply  the  length  by  the 

breadth,  or  the  base  by  the  height. 

7.  .  To  find  the  area  of  a  parallelogram,  multiply  the  base  by  the 
perpendicular  height. 

8.  To  find  the  area  of  a  triangle,  multiply  half  the  base  by  the 
perpendicular  height. 

9.  To  find  the  area  of  a  trapezium,  divide  the  trapezium  into  two 

triangles  by  a  line  joining  two  of  its  opposite  angles;  the  sum  of  these 

triangles  will  be  the  area  of  the  trapezium. 

10.  To  find  the  area  of  a  trapezoid,  multiply  the  sum  of  the  two 
parallel  sides  by  the  perpendicular  distance  between  them,  and  one- 
half  the  product  will  be  the  area. 


152 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


11.  To  find  the  surface  of  a  sphere,  multiply  the  square  of  the 
diameter  by  3.1416. 

12.  To  find  the  surface  of  a  cylinder,  multiply  the  diameter  by 
the  height,  and  that  product  by  3.1416. 

13.  To  find  the  solid  contents  of  a  right  prism,  multiply  the  length, 
breadth,  and  height. 

14.  To  find  the  solid  contents  of  a  cylinder,  multiply  the  area  of 
the  base  by  the  height. 

15.  To  find  the  solid  contents  of  a  sphere,  multiply  the  cube  of 
the  diameter  by  the  decimal  .7854. 

16.  To  find  the  solid  contents  of  a  cone,  multiply  the  area  of  its 
base  by  one-third  of  its  slant  height. 

17.  To  find  the  solid  contents  of  the  frustum  of  a  cone,  add  the 
squares  of  the  two  diameters,  to  this  add  the  product  of  the  two 
diameters,  multiply  the  sum  by  the  decimal  .7854  and  the  product  by 
one-third  the  height. 

Metric  System  of  Weights  and  Measures. —  The  Metric  System 
originated  in  France  in  1790,  and  has  been  adopted  by  all  European 
nations  except  Great  Britain  and  Russia,  where  it  is  permissive.  Its 
name  comes  from  the  word  meter ^  from  which  all  the  original  factors 
are  derived 

The  Meter,  unit  of  length,  is  nearly  the  ten-millionth  part  of  a 
quadrant  of  a  meridian,  of  the  distance  between  Equator  and  Pole. 
The  International  Standard  Meter  is,  practically,  nothing  else  but  a 
length  defined  by  the  distance  between  two  lines  on  a  platinum-irid¬ 
ium  bar  at  0°  Centigrade,  deposited  at  the  International  Bureau  of 
Weights  and  Measures,  Paris,  France. 

The  Liter,  unit  of  capacity,  is  derived  from  the  weight  of  one  kilo¬ 
gram  pure  water  at  greatest  density,  a  cube  whose  edge  is  one-tenth 
of  a  meter  and,  therefore,  the  one-thousandth  part  of  a  metric  ton. 

The  Gram,  unit  of  weight,  is  a  cube  of  pure  water  at  greatest 
density,  whose  edge  is  one-hundredth  of  a  meter,  and,  therefore,  the 
one-thousandth  part  of  a  kilogram,  and  the  one-millionth  part  of  a 
metric  ton. 

One  silver  dollar  weighs  25  grams,  -i  dime  =  2^  grams,  i  five-cent 
nickel  =  5  grams. 

The  Metric  System  was  legalized  in  the  United  States  on  July 
28,  1866,  when  Congress  enacted  as  follows:  — 

The  tables  in  the  schedule  hereto  annexed  shall  be  recognized 
in  the  construction  of  contracts,  and  in  all  legal  proceedings,  as 
establishing,  in  terms  of  the  weights  and  measures  now  in  use  in  the 
United  States,  the  equivalents  of  the  weights  and  measures  expressed 
therein  in  terms  of  the  Metric  System,  and  the  tables  may  lawfully 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


153 

be  used  for  computing,  determining,  and  expressing  in  customary 
weights  and  measures  the  weights  and  measures  of  the  Metric  System. 
The  following  are  the  tables  annexed  to  the  above :  — 


Measures  of  Length. 


Metric  Denominations  and  Values. 

Equivalents  in  Denominations  in  Use. 

Myriameter . 

Kilometer . 

Hectometer . 

Dekameter . 

Meter . 

Decimeter . 

Centimeter . 

Millimeter . 

.  10,000  meters. 

.  100  meters. 

.  10  meters. 

.  i-ioo  of  a  meter. 

.  i-iooo  of  a  meter. 

6.2137  miles. 

0.62137  mile,  or  3,280  feet  10  inches. 

328  feet  I  inch. 

393.7  inches. 

39.37  inches. 

3.937  inches. 

0.3937  inch. 

0.0394  inch. 

Measures  of  Surface. 


Metric  Denominations  and  Values. 

Equivalents  in  Denominations  in  Use. 

Hectare 

Are . 

Centare 

.  10,000  square  meters. 

.  100  square  meters. 

2.471  acres. 

119.6  square  yards. 

1,550  square  inches. 

Measures  of  Capacity. 


METRIC  DENOMINATIONS  AND  VALUES. 


EQUIVALENTS  IN  DENOMINATIONS  IN  USE. 


Names. 

Num¬ 
ber  of 
Diters. 

Cubic  Measure. 

Kiloliter  or  stere. 

1,000 

I  cubic  meter . 

Hectoliter . 

TOO 

I-IO  of  a  cubic  meter . 

Dekaliter . 

10 

10  cubic  decimeters . 

Diter . 

I 

I  cubic  decimeter . 

Deciliter . 

I-IO 

I-IO  of  a  cubic  decimeter. 

Centiliter . 

I-IOO 

10  cubic  centimeters . 

Milliliter . 

I-IOOO 

I  cubic  centimeter . 

Dry  Measure. 


1.308  cubic  yards . . 

2  bush,  and  3.35  pecks 

9.08  quarts . 

o.go8  quart . 

6.1022  cubic  inches . 

0.6102  cubic  inch . 

0.061  cubic  inch . 


Diquid  or  Wine  Measure. 


264.17  gallons. 
26.417  gallons. 
2.6417  gallons. 
1.0567  quarts. 

0.845  ^u. 

0.338  fluid  ounce. 
0.27  fluid  dram. 


Weights. 


METRIC  DENOMINATIONS  AND  VALUES. 


EQUIVALENTS  IN  DE¬ 
NOMINATIONS  IN  USE. 


Names. 


Number 

of 

Grams. 


Weight  of  What  Quantity  of  Water 
at  Maximum  Density. 


Avoirdupois  Weight. 


Miller  or  tonneau 

Quintal . 

Myriagram . 

Kilogram  or  kilo. 

Hectogram . 

Dekagram . 

Gram . 

Decigram . 

Centigram . 

Milligram . 


1,000,000 

100,000 

10,000 

1,000 

100 

10 

I 

I-IO 

I-IOO 

I-IOOO 


I  cubic  meter . 

I  hectoliter . 

10  liters . 

I  liter . 

I  deciliter . 

10  cubic  centimeters . 

I  cubic  centimeter . 

i-io  of  a  cubic  centimeter 

10  cubic  millimeters . 

I  cubic  millimeter . 


2204.6  pounds. 
220.46  pounds. 
22.046  pounds. 
2.2046  pounds. 
3.5274  ounces. 
0.3527  ounce. 
15.432  grains. 
1.5432  grains. 
0.1543  grain. 
0.0154  grain. 


154 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Approximate  Equivalents. 

A  meter  is  about  a  yard;  a  kilo  is  about  2  pounds ;  a  liter  is  about  a  quart ;  a  centi¬ 
meter  is  about  ^  inch ;  a  metric  ton  is  about  same  as  a  ton ;  a  kilometer  is  about  ^  mile ; 
a  cubic  centimeter  is  about  a  thimbleful.  A  nickel  weighs  5  grams. 

The  diameter  of  the  nickel  is  two  centimeters ;  therefore,  five  of  them  placed  in  a 
row  will  give  the  length  of  the  decimeter.  As  the  kiloliter  is  the  cubic  meter,  this 
furnishes  the  key  to  the  measurement  of  capacity.  The  nickel  therefore  gives  the  key 
to  the  entire  system. 

Money.  —  The  term  Almighty  Dollar  seems  to  have  been  first 
used  by  Washington  Irving.  Skins,  cattle,  shells,  corn,  pieces  of  cloth, 
mats,  salt,  and  many  other  commodities  have  at  different  times  and 
places  been  used  as  money. 

The  largest  circulation  of  paper  money  is  that  of  the  U.  S.,  being 
^700,000,000;  while  Russia  has  ^670,000,000. 

Gold  was  first  discovered  in  California,  in  1848. 

Money  simply  means  a  common  medium  of  exchange. 

The  first  currency  used  in  this  country  was  the  Indian  wampum. 

National  banks  were  first  established  in  this  country  in  1816. 

The  highest  denomination  of  U.  S.  legal  tender  notes  is  $10,000. 

Sterling  signifies  money  of  the  legalized  standard  of  coinage  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  The  term,  according  to  one  theory,  is  a 
corruption  of  Easterling  —  a  person  from  North  Germany,  on  the  con¬ 
tinent  of  Europe,  and  therefore  from  the  east  in  geographical  relation 
to  England.  The  Easterlings  were  ingenious  artisans  who  came  to 
England  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  to  refine  the  silver  money,  and 
the  coin  they  produced  was  called  moneta  Esterlingorum  —  the  money 
of  the  Easterlings. 

The  continental  money  consisted  of  bills  of  credit  issued  by  Con¬ 
gress  during  the  War  of  Independence,  which  were  to  be  redeemed 
with  Spanish  milled  dollars.  $200,000,000  worth  were  issued  but  they 
were  never  redeemed  and  caused  much  suffering. 


table  showing  the  VAEUE  of  foreign  coins  and  paper  notes  in  AMERICAN 

MONEY  BASED  UPON  THE  VAEUES  EXPRESSED  IN  THE  FOREGOING  TABEE. 


Number. 

British  ^ 
Sterling-. 

German 

Mark. 

French  Franc, 
Italian  Lira. 

Chinese  Tael 
(Shanghai). 

Dutch 

Florin. 

Indian 

Rupee. 

Russian 
Gold  Ruble. 

Austrian 

Crown. 

I 

$  4-86,6^ 

$  0.23,8 

$  0.19,3 

$  0.63,2 

1  0.40,2 

$  0.32,4 

$  0.51,5 

$  0.20,3 

2 

9-73.3 

0.47,6 

0.38,6 

1.26,4 

0.80,4 

0.64,8 

1.03 

0.40,6 

3 

14-59, 9^ 

0.71,4 

0.57,9 

1.89,6 

1.20,6 

0.97,2 

1-54,5 

0.60,9 

4 

19.46,6 

0-95,2 

0.77,2 

2.52,8 

1.60,8 

1.29,6 

2.06 

0.81,2 

5 

24-33,2]^ 

1. 19 

0.96,5 

3.16 

2.01 

1.62 

2.57,5 

1.01,5 

6 

29-19.9 

1.42,8 

1.15,8 

3-79,2 

2.41,2 

2.04,4 

3.09 

1.21,8 

7 

34.06,5^ 

1.66,6 

1-35,1 

4-42  4 

2.81,4 

2.36,8 

3-60,5 

1.42,1 

8 

38.93,2 

1.90,4 

1-54,4 

5-05  6 

'  3-21,6 

2-59,2 

4.12 

1.62,4 

9 

43-79.8!^ 

2.14,2 

1-73,7 

5.68,8 

3-61,8 

2.91,6 

4-63,5 

1.82,7 

10 

48.66,5 

2.38 

1-93 

6.32 

4.02 

3-24 

5-15 

2.03 

20 

97-33 

.  4-76 

3-86 

12.64 

8.04 

6.48 

10.30 

4.06 

30 

145-99,5 

7-14 

5-79 

18.96 

12.06 

9.72 

15-45 

6.09 

40 

194.66 

9-52 

7.72 

25.28 

16.08 

12.96 

20.60 

8.12 

50 

243-32,5 

11.90 

9-65 

31-60 

20.10 

16.20 

25.75 

10.15 

100 

486.65 

23.80 

19.30 

63.20 

40.20 

32.40 

51-50 

20.30 

/ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


155 


Money,  Value  of  Foreign. — ■ 


Country. 


Argentine  Rep. . . . 
Austria-Hungary. . 


Belgium . 

Bolivia . 

Brazil . 

Canada . . . 

Central  America.. 
Chile . 


China . 

Colombia . 

Costa  Rica . . 

Cuba . 

Denmark . 

Ecuador . 

Egypt . 

Finland . 

France . 

Germany . 

Great  Britain . 

Greece . . 

Hayti . 

India . 

Italy . 

Japan  . 

Mexico . 

Netherlands . 

Newfoundland. . . . 

Norway . 

Peru . 

Portugal . 

Russia . 

Spain . 

Sweden . 

Switzerland . 

Turkey . 

Uruguay . 

Venezuela . 


Standard. 

Monetary  Unit. 

Value  in 
U.  S.  Gold 
Dollar. 

Gold. . 

Peso . . . 

$0.96.5 

Gold. . 

Crown . 

•20,3 

Gold. . 

Franc. . 

•19-3 

Silv’r* 

Boliviano . 

.42,8 

Gold. . 

Milreis 

•54,6 

Gold.. 

Dollar . 

1. 00 

Silver 

Pesof . . 

•45,1 

Gold. . 

Peso  . . . . 

.42,8 

'  Shanghai 

.63,2 

Haikwan 

.70,4 

Silver 

Tael...  ] 

Tientsin . 

.67,0 

Canton. . . 

.68,9 

Silver 

Pe.so  . . . . 

.42,8 

Gold.. 

Colon . . 

•46,5 

Gold. . 

Peso  . . . . 

.92,6 

Gold. . 

Crown . . 

.26,8 

Silver 

Sucre . . . 

.48,7 

Gold . . 

Pound  (100  piasters) 

4-94.3 

Gold. . 

Mark . . . 

•19,3 

Gold. . 

Franc  . 

•  19,3 

Gold. . 

Mark... 

•23,8 

Gold.. 

Pound  sterling . 

4-86,6)4 

Gold. . 

Drachma . 

•19,3 

Gold.. 

Gourde 

•96,5 

Gold.. 

Pound  sterling  t . . . . 

4-86,6)4 

Gold.. 

Lira  . . . . 

•19,3 

Gold. . 

Yen . 

•49,8 

Silver 

Dollar.. 

.46,4 

Gold.. 

Florin... 

.40,2 

Gold.. 

Dollar... 

1.01,4 

Gold. . 

Crown . . 

.26,8 

Gold. . 

Sol . 

.48,7 

Gold. . 

Milreis  . 

1.08 

Gold.. 

Ruble. , . 

•51,5 

Gold. . 

Peseta . . 

•19,3 

Gold.. 

Crown . . 

.26.8 

Gold. . 

Franc. . . 

•19,3 

Gold.. 

Piaster  . 

.04,4 

Gold. . 

Peso  . . . . 

1-03,4 

Gold. . 

Bolivar.. 

•19,3 

Coins. 


Gold:  argentine  (14.82,4)  and  K  argentine. 
Silver :  pe.so  and  divisions. 

Gold:  former  system  —  4  florins  ($1.92,9).  8 
florins  ($3.85,8),  ducat  ($2.28,7),  and  4 
ducats  ($9.14,9).  Silver:  i  and  2  florins. 
Gold :  present  system  —  20  crowns  ($4.05,2) 
and  10  crowns  ($2.02,6). 

Gold :  10  and  20  francs.  Silver  :  5  francs. 

Silver :  boliviano  and  divisions. 

Gold  :  5,  10,  and  20  milreis.  Silver;  i,  and 
2  milreis. 

Silver :  peso  and  divisions. 

Gold:  escudo  ($1.82,5),  doubloon  ($3.65),  and 
condor  ($7.30).  Silver :  peso  and  divisions. 


Gold:  condor  ($9.64,7)  and  double-condor. 
Silver:  pe.so. 

Gold:  2,  5,  10,  and  20  colons  ($9.30,7).  Sil¬ 
ver  :  5,  10,  25,  and  50  centimos. 

Gold:  doubloon  ($5.01,7);  Alphonse  ($4.82,3). 
Silver:  peso. 

Gold :  10  and  20  crowns. 

Gold:  10  sucres  ($4.86,65).  Silver:  sucre  and 
divisions. 

Gold:  pound  (100  piasters),  5,  10,  20,  and  50 
piasters.  Silver:  i,  2,  5,  10,  and  20  piasters. 

Gold:  20  marks  ($3.85,9),  10  marks  ($1.93). 

Gold  :  5,  10,  20,  50,  and  100  frs.  Silver :  5  frs. 

Gold  :  5,  10,  and  20  marks. 

Gold:  sovereign  (pound  sterling)  and 
sovereign. 

Gold  :  5,  10,  20,  50,  and  100  drachmas.  Silver: 
5  drachmas. 

Gold :  I,  2,  5,  and  10  gourdes.  Silver  :  gourde 
and  divisions. 

Gold  :  sov.  ($4.86,65).  Sil. :  rupee  and  div’ns. 

Gold :  5,  10,  20,  50,  and  100  lire.  Silver :  5*lire. 

Gold:  I,  2,  5,  10,  and  20  yen.  Silver;  10,  20, 
and  50  sen. 

Gold :  dollar  ($0.98,3),  2^,  5,  10,  and  20  dol¬ 
lars.  Silver :  dollar  (or  peso)  and  divisions. 

Gold:  10  florins.  Silver,  i,  and  2)4  florins. 

Gold:  2  dollars  ($2.02,7). 

Gold  :  10  and  20  crowns. 

Gold :  libra  ($4.86,65).  Silver :  sol  and  div’ns. 

Gold:  I,  2,  5,  and  10  milreis. 

Gold  :  imperial  ($7.71,8)  and  )4  imperial,  7)4 
rubles  ($3.86).  Silver:  ^  ruble. 

Gold :  25  pesetas.  Silver :  5  pesetas. 

Gold :  10  and  20  crowns. 

Gold :  5,  10,  20,  50,  &  100  francs.  Silver :  5  fr’s. 

Gold :  25,  56,  100,  250,  and  500  piasters. 

Gold :  peso.  Silver  :  peso  and  divisions. 

Gold :  5,  10,  20,  50,  and  100  bolivars.  Silver : 
5  bolivars. 


*  The  coins  of  silver- standard  countries  are  valued  by  their  pure  silver  contents, 
at  the  average  market  price  of  silver  for  the  three  months  preceding  the  date  of 
this  circular. 

fNot  including  Costa  Rica. 

^:The  sovereign  is  the  standard  coin  of  India,  but  the  rupee  ($0.32,4)  is  the  money 
of  account,  current  at  15  to  the  sovereign. 


Acre. — A  standard  land  measure.  A  square,  12.649  rods,  or  69.57 
yards,  or  208.71  feet  on  a  side,  contains  one  acre.  It  is  composed  of 


156 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


10  square  chains,  a  surveyor’s  chain  being  66  feet.  An  acre  is  con 
tained  by  a  rectangle  of  the  following  dimensions  in  rods:  — 


9  X  17I 

11  X  i4|- 

12  X  13I 
12}  X  I2| 


I  X  160 


5  X  32 

7  X  22f 


There  are  in  an  acre  4,840  sq.  yds.  ;  43,560  sq.  ft. 

The  acre  in  the  United  States  and  that  in  England  are  the  same. 
Taking  this  as  i:  —  The  Scotch  is  1.27;  the  Irish,  1.62;  the  French 
Hectare,  2.47;  the  German  Morgen,  0.65;  the  ancient  Roman  Jugerum, 
0.66  and  the  Greek  Plethron,  0.24. 

Almighty  Dollar. —  A  phrase  first  used  by  Washington  Irving  in 
his  sketch  of  a  Creole  Village,  in  1837. 

Angel.  —  A  gold  coin  stamped  with  the  figure  of  an  angel,  weight 
four  pennyweights,  value  6  s.  8  d.  in  the  time  of  Henry  VI.  and  at 
10  s.  in  Elizabeth’s  time,  1562. 

Avoirdupois. —  S3^stem  of  weights  and  measures  applied  to  all  goods 
except  precious  metals  and  precious  stones.  The  grain  is  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  system.  A  cubic  inch  of  water  weighs  252,458  grains; 
7,000  of  such  grains  make  an  A.  lb.;  and  5,760  a  Troy  lb.  The  A. 
lb.  is  divided  into  16  ounces  of  437^  grains  and  each  of  these  again 
into  16  drams  of  27^  grains  each. '  (See  Tables  of  Weights  and 
Measures.) 

Bimetallism.  —  The  use  of  two  metals  as  money,  at  relative  values 
fixed  by  law;  the  doctrine  that  two  metals  can  and  should  simultane¬ 
ously  and  in  the  same  country  be  established  as  standards  of  value 
and  bear  to  each  other  an  arbitrary  ratio.  As  here  used,  the  term 
generally  refers  to  the  use  of  gold  and  silver  at  a  relative  value  fixed 
by  the  government.  Monometallism  is  the  theory  that  only  one  metal 
should  be  used  as  a  money  standard. 

Bland  Dollar.  —  An  unofficial,  but  popular,  designation  of  that 
silver  dollar  which  was  coined  by  the  U.  S.  for  the  first  time  in  1878. 
It  takes  its  name  from  Richard  P.  Bland,  of  Mo.,  who  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  in  1876,  introduced  a  bill  for  the  free  and  un¬ 
limited  coinage  of  silver.  It  passed  the  House  and,  in  modified  form, 
the  Senate.  It  was  vekoed  by  President  Hayes,  Feb.  28,  1878,  but  was 
carried  over  his  veto  the  same  day.  In  the  form  in  which  it  became 
a  law,  it  provided  that  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  should  each 
month  purchase  not  less  than  $2,000,000  nor  more  than  $4,000,000 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


157 


worth  of  silver  bullion  to  be  coined  into  dollars  of  412^4  grains  each. 
It  was  repealed  by  the  Sherman  Act  of  1890. 


Books,  Sizes  of.  —  When  a  sheet  is  folded  in 


2  leaves  it  makes  a  folio  of  4  pp. 


4 

8 

12 

16 

18 

24 


ii 


“  quarto,  qto,  of  8  pp. 
an  octavo,  8vo,  of  16  pp. 
a  duodecimo,  i2mo,  of  24  pp. 
“  i6mo,  of  32  pp. 
an  i8mo,  of  36  pp. 
a  24mo,  of  48  pp. 


The  following  are  the  approximate  sizes  of  books: 


Royal  Folio . 

.  19  inches 

X 

12 

Demy . 

.  18 

X 

II 

Super  Imp.  Quarto  (4to) . 

. 

X 

13 

Royal  4to . 

. 

X 

10 

Demy  4to . 

. 

X 

8K 

Crown  4to . 

.  II 

X 

8 

Royal  Octavo . 

X 

6K 

Medium  8vo . 

.  9V2 

X 

6 

Demy  8vo . 

.  9 

X 

5  Yz 

Crown  8vo  . 

.  7K 

X 

4K 

Foolscap  8vo . 

.  7 

X 

4 

i2mo . 

.  7 

X 

4 

i6mo . 

.  6K 

X 

4 

Square  i6mo . 

.  4>^ 

X 

Royal  24mo . 

. 

X 

3X 

Demy  24010 . 

.  5 

X 

Royal  3  2  mo . 

.  5 

X 

3 

Post  32100 . . 

.  4 

X 

Demy  48010 . .  .  . 

. YA 

X 

2% 

Book-Type,  Smaller  Sizes  of, —  Semi-nonpareil  is  the  smallest  size 
of  type,  288  lines  being  required  to  make  a  foot.  There  are  no  fewer 
than  190  different  widths  or  thicknesses  of  types  used  in  printing, 
whieh  are  of  all  sizes,  from  the  immense  poster  types  one  is  accus¬ 
tomed  to  see  on  hoardings,  down  to  an  infinitely  small  size  that  can 
be  read  only  by  the  aid  of  a  magnifying  glass.  The  body  of  Tit- 
Bits  is  printed  in  bourgeois  type,  of  which  102  lines  go  to  the  foot. 
There  are,  at  least,  eleven  sizes  of  type  smaller  than  the  bourgeois,  as 
shown  in  the  following  list,  namely:  — 

Lines  to 


Types.  the  ft. 

Bourgeois .  102 

Brevier .  in 

Minion . 122 

Emerald .  128 

Nonpareil .  144 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Types 

Ruby  Nonpareil 

Ruby . 

Pearl . 

Diamond . 

Gem . . 

Brilliant . 

Semi-Nonpareil . 


Lines  to 
the  ft. 

. ,  162 
. .  166 
. .  179 

. .  204 
.  .  222 
■  •  238 
.  .  288 


A  little  book  called  the  ^^Mite^^  was  recently  published.  It  is  set 
in  brilliant,  and  the  pages  are  ten  centimeters  by  seven  centimeters. 
The  Oxford  University  Press  publish  an  edition  of  the  Bible  in  this 
small  type.  Another  typographical  curiosity  is  a  copy  of  a  French 
translation  of  Dante’s  Divine  Comedy,  which  was  exhibited  at  the 
Paris  Exhibition  of  1882.  The  tiny  volume  is  less  than  half  an  inch 
square,  and  consists  of  500  pages,  to  make  which  only  two  sheets  of 
printer’s  paper  were  required.  It  contains  in  all  14,323  verses,  and  is 
set  in  semi-nonpareil. 

Brick  Work,  Measurement  of. — Work  is  generally  estimated  by 
the  1,000  brick,  on  the  basis  of  a  wall  a  brick  and  a  half  thick,  which 
is  regarded  as  the  standard  to  which  all  work  must  conform. 

To  find  the  contents  of  a  wall  which  varies  from  the  standard, — 

Multiply  the  superficial  contents  of  the  wall  by  the  number  of 
half  bricks  in  thickness  and  take  one -third  of  the  product. 

A  brick  is  8)4  inches  long,  4  inches  wide,  and  2)4  inches  thick;  20 
bricks,  laid  dry,  form  a  cubic  foot.  So  that,  with  the  dimensions  of  a 
wall  given,  we  may  find  the  number  of  bricks  required  by  multiply¬ 
ing  the  length,  breadth,  and  thickness  in  feet  and  fractions  of  a  foot, 
and  dividing  the  product  by  20  —  or  by  22^  if  the  bricks  are  smaller 
than  the  average  given.  The  quotient  will  be  the  number  of  bricks 

required. 

• 

Bushel. —  A  dry  measure  used  for  fruit,  grains,  and  vegetables.  It 
contains  8  gallons  of  267.27  cubic  inches,  and  holding  10  lbs.  of  dis¬ 
tilled  water.  Thus  the  bushel  contains  80  lbs.  of  water,  and  measures 
2,218.2  cubic  inches.  The  U.  S.  Government  standard  for  dry  measure 
is  the  Winchester  bushel,  being  a  cylindrical  vessel  having  an  in¬ 
side  diameter  of  18^  inches,  and  8  inches  deep  and  containing  2,150.42 
cubic  inches. 

A  box  16  in.  x  12  in.  x  11.2  in.  will  hold  a  bushel. 

A  box  12  in.  x  11.2  in.  x  8  in.  will  hold  half  a  bushel. 

Cent.  —  Vt.  was  the  first  state  to  issue  copper  cents.  In  June, 
1785,  she  granted  authority  to  Ruben  Harmon,  Jr.,  to  make  money 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


159 


for  the  state  for  two  years.  In  Oct.  of  the  same  year,  Connecticut 
granted  the  right  to  coin  0,000  in  copper  cents,  known  as  the  Con¬ 
necticut  cent  of  1785.  Mass.,  in  1786,  established  a  mint  and  coined 
$60,000  in  cents  and  half  cents.  In  the  same  year,  N.  J.  granted  the 
right  to  coin  10,000  at  15  coppers  to  the  shilling.  In  1781,  the  Con¬ 
tinental  Congress  directed  Robert  Morris  to  investigate  the  matter  of 
governmental  coinage.  He  proposed  a  standard  based  on  the  Spanish 
dollar,  consisting  of  100  units,  each  unit  to  be  called  a  cent.  His 
plan  was  rejected.  In  1784,  Jefferson  proposed  to  Congress  that  the 
smallest  coin  should  be  of  copper,  and  that  200  of  them  should  pass 
for  one  dollar.  The  plan  was  adopted,  but  in  1786,  100  was  substi¬ 
tuted.  In  1792  the  coinage  of  copper  cents,  containing  264  grains, 
and  half  cents  in  proportion,  was  authorized;  their  weight  was  subse¬ 
quently  reduced.  In  1853  the  nickel  cent  was  substituted  and  the 
half  cent  discontinued,  and  in  1864  the  bronze  cent  was  introduced, 
weighing  48  grains  and  consisting  of  95  per  cent,  of  copper,  and  the 
remainder  of  tin  and  zinc. 

Chain,  Engineer’s. —  Is  used  by  railroad  and  canal  engineers.  It 
consists  of  100  links,  each  i  foot  long. 

Chain,  Gunter’s. —  Used  in  land  surveying,  is  a  measure  of  100 
links  of  7.92  inches  each.  It  is  4  rods  or  66  feet  long. 

Coinage  Laws. —  The  importance  of  a  sound  system  of  coinage 
early  impressed  itself  upon  the  founders  of  the  Government,  and  laws 
were  passed  to  regulate  the  proportion  of  metal  in  the  different  coins 
and  the  ratio  of  value  of  one  metal  to  another.  Among  the  more 
important  of  these  laws  was  the  act  of  Apr.  2,  1792,  which  provided 
that  any  holder  of  gold  or  silver  could  have  the  same  coined  at  the 
mint,  receiving  for  it  coins  of  the  same  metal  in  equal  weight.  The 
standard  of  fineness  of  gold  was  1 1  parts  pure  to  one  of  alloy ;  for 
silver,  1,485  pure  to  179  of  alloy;  the  ratio  of  gold  to  silver  was  one 
to  15,  and  silver  and  gold  coins  were  legal  tender.  By  the  act  of 
Mar.  3,  1795,  the  treasurer  kept  24  cents  per  ounce  for  silver  below 
standard  and  four  cents  per  ounce  of  gold,  as  toll  for  Coinage. 
Under  the  same  law  the  President  reduced  the  weight  of  the  copper 
coin  one  pennyweight,  16  grains,  in  each  cent,  and  in  this  propor¬ 
tion  in  each  half-cent.  By  the  law  of  Apr.  21,  1800,  a  sum  sufficient 
to  pay  for  refining  was  retained  in  the  case  of  deposits  of  gold  and 
silver  below  standard,  and  by  that  of  May  8,  1828,  enough  to  pay 
for  materials  and  waste  was  deducted  from  silver  bullion  needing 
the  test.  The  act  of  June  28,  1834,  provided  that  one-half  of  one 
per  cent,  should  be  deducted  from  all  standard  gold  and  silver,  if  paid 
for  in  coin  within  five  days  from  deposit.  Under  the  law  of  Jan.  18, 


l6o  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

1837,  all  gold  and  silver  had  to  be  nine-tenths  pure,  with  one-tenth 
alloy,  and  was  to  be  legal  tender  for  all  sums.  Feb.  21.  1853,  the 
half-dollar  was  redueed  from  206^  grains  to  192  grains;  the  same 
proportion  was  applied  to  the  lesser  silver  coins,  and  they  were  made 
legal  tender  in  sums  not  exceeding  $5.00.  Private  deposits  were  not 
received  for  conversion  into  these  coins,  and  the  charge  for  refining 
was  one-half  of  one  per  cent.  The  trade  dollar  dates  from  1873, 
when  the  law  passed  that  year  ordained  that  its  weight  should  be  420 
grains  and  of  the  half-dollar  193  grains;  these  coins  to  be  legal 
tender  up  to  $5.00.  The  coinage  of  silver  dollars  of  full  legal  tender 
value  was  left  unprovided  for,  and  silver  bullion  could  be  deposited 
for  coinage  into  trade  dollars  only,  and  gold  for  coinage  for  the 
benefit  of  the  depositor.  Directors  of  mints  were  empowered  to  buy 
silver  for  coins  below  the  dollar,  and  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent,  was 
charged  for  the  conversion  of  standard  gold  into  coin  and  standard 
silver  into  trade  dollars.  Silver  coins,  trade  dollars  excepted,  were 
made  exchangeable  at  par  for  gold  coins  in  sums  not  in  excess  of 
$100.  In  1875  gold  coinage  was  released  from  charges  and  in  1877 
Congress  decreed  that  the  trade  dollar  should  cease  to  be  legal 
tender.  By  the  law  of  Feb.  28,  1878,  the  present  silver  dollar  of 
41 2|-  grains  came  into  existence,  and  was  made  legal  tender  for  all 
debts.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  authorized  to  buy  at 
market  value  not  less  than  $2,000,000  nor  more  than  $4,000,000  worth 
of  silver  bullion  each  month  and  to  coin  it  into  dollars.  In  1879 
silver  coins  of  less  than  $1.00  were  made  legal  tender  to  the  amount 
of  $10.00.  In  1890,  when  the  law  of  1878  was  repealed,  the  secretary 
of  the  treasury  was  authorized  to  buy  4,500,000  ounces  of  silver 
bullion  each  month,  paying  for  it  with  legal  tender  notes,  and  mak¬ 
ing  a  sufficient  monthly  coinage  to  redeem  the  notes.  The  silver- 
purchase  clause  of  the  act  was  repealed  in  1893. 

Coins,  Metric  System  in. —  It  may  not  ‘be  generally  known  that 
we  have  in  the  nickel  five-cent  piece  of  our  coinage  a  key  to  the 
tables  of  the  linear  measures  and  weights  of  the  metric  system.  The 
diameter  of  this  coin  is  two  centimeters  and  its  weight  is  five  grams. 
Five  of  them  placed  in  a  row  will,  of  course,  give  the  length  of  the 
decimeter;  and  two  of  them  will  weigh  a  decagram.  As  the  liter  is 
a  cubic  decimeter,  the  key  to  the  measure  of  length  is  also  the  key 
to  measures  of  capacity.  Any  person,  therefore,  who  is  fortunate 
enough  to  own  a  five-cent  nickel  may  be  said  to  carry  in  his  pocket 
the  entire  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures. 

Crith  (Greek,  kpiOij^  a  barleycorn,  a  small  weight). —  In  chemistry 
the  unit  for  estimating  the  weight  of  aeriform  substances; — the  weight 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


l6l 

of  a  liter  of  hydrogen  at  o°  centigrade,  and  with  a  tension  of  76  cen¬ 
timeters  of  mercury.  It  is  0.0896  of  a  grain,  or  i.. 38 2 74  grains. 

Cubit  (Latin,  cubitum^  cubitus,  an  elbow,  an  ell). — An  ancient  meas¬ 
ure  of  length,  being  the  distance  from  the  elbow  to  the  extremity  of 
the  middle  finger.  In  England  the  cubit  is  18  inches;  the  Roman  cubit 
was  17.47  inches;  the  Greek  18.20;  and  the  Hebrew  somewhat  longer. 

Decimal  System. —  That  system  of  weights  and  measures  in  which 
the  unit  or  standard  is  divided  into  tenths  and  multiples  of  tens.  It 
is  applied  to  the  U.  S.  money  system,  and  the  French  metric  system. 
(See  Weights  and  Measures.) 

Degree. —  (i)  The  360th  part  of  a  circumference.  (2)  A  unit  in 
thermometric  measurement;  that  of  Fahrenheit’s  scale  being  the  i8oth 
part  of  the  distance  between  the  freezing  and  boiling  points;  in  the 
Centigrade  system  it  is  the  looth  part,  and  in  Reaumur’s  the  80th 
part  of  the  distance  between  zero  (the  freezing  point)  and  the  boiling 
point. 

Demonetization  of  Metal. —  When  a  metal  is  deprived  of  its 
standard  monetary  value  and  thus  made  merely  a  commodity,  it  is 
said  to  be  demonetized. 

Dime. —  The  smallest  piece  of  silver  now  coined  by  the  U.  S.,  one- 
tenth  of  a  dollar  in  value.  The  word  is  taken  from  the  French 
dixi^me,  one-tenth,  and  was  spelled  disme  on  some  of  the  first 
coins.  The  dime  was  authorized  in  1792  with  a  weight  of  41.6  grains; 
reduced  in  1853  to  38.4  grains.  The  first  dimes  were  issued  in  1796. 

Dollar.— Derived  from  daler  or  thaler.  The  first  American  silver 
dollar  was  modeled  after  the  Spanish  milled  dollar,  and  was  author¬ 
ized  by  act  of  Congress  in  1792.  It  was  first  coined  in  1794  and 
weighed  416  grains,  371:^  grains  being  of  silver  and  the  remainder 
alloy.  In  1837  the  weight  was  reduced  to  412 -J-  grains  for  use  in 
trade  with  China  and  Japan,  known  as  the  ^Hrade  dollar.  The  gold 
dollar  was  issued  under  the  act  of  Mar.  3,  1849,  its  coinage  being  dis¬ 
continued  in  1890.  The  act  of  Feb.  12,  1873,  suspended  the  coinage 
of  silver  dollars  —  trade  dollars  excepted  —  and  made  the  gold  dollar 
the  standard  of  value. 

Eagle. —  The  $to  gold  coin  of  the  U.  S.  Its  coinage  was  author¬ 
ized  in  1792.  Coined  first  in  1794.  It  has  ever  since  been  a  legal 
tender  to  any  amount.  The  first  delivery  was  of  100  eagles  Sept.  22, 
1795.  Coinage  was  suspended  in  1805  and  resumed  in  1837.  It  takes 
its  name  from  the  figure  of  the  national  bird  which  is  stamped  on 
the  reverse, 
ij— II 


i62 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Farthing.  —  An  English  coin;  was  originally  coined  in  silver.  It 
was  first  coined  in  copper  by  Charles  II.,  in  1665.  It  is  worth  about 
a  half  cent.  Four  farthings  make  a  penny,  worth  2^  cents. 

Fiat  Money. —  A  proposed  circulating  medium  often  heard  of 
during  the  greenback  delusion  that  followed  the  Civil  War.  The 
term  was  applied  to  projected  irredeemable  paper  currency,  which  its 
advocates  claimed  could  be  made  valuable,  though  it  had  neither 
intrinsic  worth,  nor  the  promise  to  pay,  by  the  mere  governmental 
assertion  of  its  equality  and  identity  with  money  of  known,  accepted, 
and  established  excellence.  ^^Fiat,^^  a  Latin  word,  means  Let  it  be 
done,^^ — Say  it  is  money,  and  it  is  money. 

Five-cent  Piece. —  A  silver  half-dime  of  20.8  grains;  was  the  first 
coin  struck  by  the  U.  S.  mint.  In  1853  the  weight  was  made  19.2 
grains.  This  chin  was  not  issued  in  1798,  1799,  1804,  or  from  1806  to 
1828.  The  nickel  five-cent  piece  dates  from  1866,  when  the  legal 
tender  of  five-cent  pieces  was  reduced  from  $5.00  to  30  cents.  No 
silver  half-dimes  have  been  coined  since  1873. 

Furlong. —  (As  long  as  a  furrow.)  A  measure  of  length,  220  yds., 
or  the  eighth  part  of  a  mile. 

Gallon. —  A  liquid  measure,  composed  of  four  quarts,  eight  pints, 
or  32  gills.  The  standard  liquid  gallon  of  the  U.  S.  contains  231 
cubic  inches;  the  imperial  gallon  of  Great  Britain  277,274  cubic 
inches. 

Gold  and  Silver  Production  in  500  Years. 


COUNTRIES 

GOLD 

SILVER 

Tons 

Value 

Ratio 

Tons 

Value 

Ratio 

Africa . 

740 

$  ^20,000,000 

7-1 

Australia . 

1,840 

1,290,000,000 

17.8 

Austria . 

460 

'325;ooo'ooo 

4-4 

7.930 

$  305,000,000 

4.1 

Brazil . 

1,040 

725,000,000 

lO.O 

Germany . 

8,470 

325,000,000 

4.4 

Mexico . 

.... 

.... 

78,600 

3,040,000,000 

40.7 

Peru . 

72.000 

2.770.0(X).000 

*17. 

Russia . 

1.235 

865,000,000 

12.0 

3.200 

1 20, 000,  OCX) 

1-7 

Spanish  America . 

2,220 

I.SSO.OOO.OOO 

21. S 

United  States . 

2,042 

1,430,000,000 

19.7 

11,600 

445,000,000 

6.08 

Other  Countries . 

778 

535,000,000 

7-5 

11,200 

430,000,000 

5.8 

The  World . 

10,355 

$7,240,000,000 

100.0 

193.000 

$7,435,000,000 

100.0 

Gramme. —  The  unit  of  the  standard  of  weight  in  the  French  sys¬ 
tem.  It  is  determined  by  the  weight  of  a  cubic  centimeter  of  distilled 
water  at  0°  Centigrade.  It  is  equal  to  15.43248  grains  Troy. 

Granby  Token. —  An  unauthorized  coin  issued  by  John  Higley,  of 
Granby,  Conn.,  in  1737.  It  was  made  of  copper  and  on  the  obverse 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


163 


bore  a  deer,  with  the  words  Value  me  as  you  please,  the  Roman 
numerals  III.,  and  a  crescent.  The  design  on  the  reverse  consisted 
of  three  hammers  on  a  triangular  field,  each  bearing  a  crown.  The 
legend  was,  I  am  good  copper. 

Greenbacks. —  The  popular  name  for  the  legal  tender  treasury 
notes,  printed  on  one  side  in  green  ink,  issued  by  the  ,  Government 
during  the  Civil  War.  The  right  of  the  Government  to  issue  bills  of 
credit  was  disputed  by  many  statesmen  and  financiers,  but  the  exi¬ 
gencies  of  the  time  seemed  to  render  some  such  measure  .necessary, 
and  the  Supreme  Court  finally  established  their  validity.  Issues  of 
$150,000,000  each  were  authorized  by  the  laws  of  Feb.  25  and  July 
II,  1862,  and  Mar.  3,  1863.  The  result  was  that,  as  compared  with 
greenbacks,  gold  was  held  at  an  average  of  220  throughout  1864  and 
at  one  time,  actually  rose  to  a  premium  of  285,  and  did  not  again 
touch  par  with  greenbacks  till  Dec.  17,  1878,  nearly  17  years  after  the 
last  previous  sale  of  gold  at  par.  By  the  specie-resumption  act  of 
Jan.  14,  1875,  was  ordered  that  on  and  after  Jan.  i,  1879,  all  legal 
tender  notes  presented  to  the  assistant  treasurer  of  the  U.  S.  at  his 
office  in  N.  Y.,  should  be  redeemed  in  coin.  The  term  Greenback 
has  been  applied  to  other  forms  of  U.  S.  securities  printed  in  green  ink. 

Guinea. —  A  gold  coin  formerly  current  in  England.  It  took  its 
name  from  the  gold  which  came  from  Guinea  in  West  Africa.  It 
was  of  21  shillings  value;  coined  first  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
(1664)  and  was  superseded  by  the  sovereign,  of  20  shillings,  in  1817. 
Though  it  is  no  longer  current,  it  is  used  as  a  measure  of  value. 

Height,  Measurement  of. —  This  is  done  in  one  of  four  ways:  by 
trigonometry;  by  leveling;  by  the  barometer  to  test  the  atmospheric 
pressure  at  top  and  bottom;  and  by  finding  the  boiling  point  of  water 
at  top  and  bottom  by  the  thermometer. 

Land  Surveying. —  An  important  application  of  mathematics  to  the 
measurement  of  an  area  of  land,  whether  small  or  large.  It  requires 
a  thorough  acquaintance  with  geometry,  trigonometry,  and  the  theory 
and  use  of  the  instruments  employed  for  the  determination  of  angles. 

Lath  Work. —  The  standard  size  of  laths  is  4  feet  long,  ij^  inches 
wide,  and  ^  of  an  inch  thick.  *  They  are  sold  in  bunches  containing 
50  each.  One  bunch  will  cover  about  3  square  yards  of  wall  space. 
Lathing  is  measured  by  the  square  yard,  one-half  of  the  surface  of 
openings  being  deducted. 

Legal  Tender  Cases. —  During  the  financial  emergency  caused  by 
the  Civil  War,  Congress  in  1862  issued  $150,000,000  of  treasury  notes. 
The  law  authorizing  their  issue  made  them  legal  tender  for  all  pri¬ 
vate  debts  and  public  dues  except  duties  on  imports  and  interest  on 


164 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


the  public  debt.  The  constitutionality  of  the  act  was  frequently  dis¬ 
puted,  especially  in  its  application  to  debts  contracted  prior  to  its 
passage,  and  the  Supreme  Court  was*  called  upon  in  several  cases  to 
decide  the  question.  State  courts  generally  maintained  the  constitu¬ 
tionality  of  the  law.  The  Supreme  Court,  in  1869,  in  the  case  of 
Hepburn  vs.  Griswold,  maintained  the  validity  of  the  law  only  in  so 
far  as  it  did  not  affect  contracts  made  prior  to  its  passage.  In  1870 
this  decision  was  overruled,  and  the  constitutionality  of  the  law  in  its 
application  to  preexisting  debts  was  maintained. 

Mint. —  By  an  act  of  Congress  passed  Apr.  2,  1792,  the  first  U.  S. 
mint  was  established  at  Philadelphia.  The  first  machinery  and  first 
metal  used  were  imported,  and  copper  cents  were  coined  the  follow¬ 
ing  year.  In  1794  silver  dollars  were  made,  and  the  succeeding  year 
gold  eagles.  In  1835  branch  mints  were  established  at  New  Orleans, 
*La.,  at  Charlotte,  N.  C.,  and  at  Dahlonega,  Ga.  ;  in  1852  at  San  Fran¬ 
cisco,  Cal. ;  in  1864  at  Dalles  City,  Ore.  ;  and  in  1870  at  Carson  City, 
Nev.  The  mints  at  Charlotte  and  Dahlonega  were  suspended  in  1861, 
and  that  at  Dalles  in  1875,  that  at  Carson  City  in  1885,  and  that  at 
New  Orleans  from  i860  to  1879.  Assay  offices,  which  were  formerly 
considered  branches  of  the  mint,  were  established  at  N.  Y.  in  1834; 
Denver,  Col.,  in  1864;  Boise  City,  Idaho,  in  1872,  and  at  other  places 
at  later  dates. 

New  England  Shilling.  —  A  rude  coin  minted  in  Boston  from 
the  year  1652,  bearing  the  denomination  mark  ^^XII,^^  signifying  i2d., 
and  valued  at  about  i8j^  cents.  ' 

Pine  Tree  Money.  —  The  general  court  of  Mass.,  May  27,  1652, 
passed  an  act  establishing  a  mint  in  Boston.  John  Hull  was  ap¬ 
pointed  mint  master,  and  the  coins  manufactured  under  his  super¬ 
vision  were  called  Pine  Tree  Money, from  a  design  on  the  obverse 
of  a  pine  tree  encircled  by  a  grained  ring,  with  the  legend  Masa- 
thusets  In.^^  Their  coinage  was  discontinued  at  Hull’s  death,  Oct. 
I,  1683. 

Pistole.  —  A  name  formerly  given  to  a  gold  coin  circulated  in 
Spain,  Italy,  and  some  parts  of  Germany.  Its  value  in  U.  S.  currency 
is  $3.90. 

Postage  Currency. —  A  form  of  fractional  paper  currency,  resem¬ 
bling  postage  stamps  in  appearance,  used  in  the  U.  S.  for  a  brief  pe¬ 
riod  during  the  Civil  War. 

Quarter  Dollar. —  The  Continental  Congress  in  1786  decided 
upon  certain  coins.  Among  these  was  a  quarter  dollar  to  be  made  of 
silver.  It  was  first  issued  in  1796  and  its  weight  was  fixed  at  104 
grains.  In  1853  it  was  reduced  to  93  grains,  and  by  the  coinage  act 


/ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  165 

of  1873  was  raised  to  96.54  grains,  or  0.2  of  an  oz.,  the  present  weight, 
and  900  fine.  The  eoin  is  legal  tender  to  the  amount  of  $5.  The 
quarter  dollar  of  1827  is  one  of  the  rare  eoins  of  the  U.  S.  There 
were  no  issues  of  this  eoin  during  the  years  1798  to  1803;  1808  to 
1815,  nor  during  1817,  1824,  1826,  and  1830. 

Quarter  Eagle.  —  A  gold  coin  of  the  U.  S.,  authorized  in  1792 
and  first  coined  in  1796.  It  is  legal  tender  to  any  amount.  The 
present  weight  of  the  coin  is  0.134  oz.  or  64.5  grains,  and  the  fine¬ 
ness  900.  It  was  coined  under  act  of  Congress  June  28,  1834. 

Quint. —  One  of  the  silver  coins  presented  by  Robert  Morris  to 
the  Continental  Congress  in  1783  for  consideration  as  a  national  coin. 
It  weighed  5  pennyweight,  15  grains,  and  was  equal  to  35  cents.  On 
the  reverse  was  S.  500^^  surrounded  by  a  wreath  and  legend 

Libertas,  Justitia,^^  on  the  obverse  was  an  eye,  13  points  crossing 
(equidistant)  a  circle  of  as  many  stars  and  the  legend  Nova  Con- 
stellatio.^^  The  coin  was  not  accepted  and  afterward  became  known 
as  the  Nova  Constellatio  coinage. 

Shinplasters. —  This  name  was  first  applied  to  the  depreciated 
Continental  paper  currency  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  Later  it 
was  applied  to  other  issues  of  paper  money. 

Trade  Dollar. —  Issued  by  the  L^nited  States,  1874-78,  for  use  in 
trade  with  China.  It  was  legal  tender  to  the  amount  of  $5.00  until 
1876.  The  weight  of  the  trade  dollar  was  420  grains;  that  of  the 
standard  American  silver  dollar,  412J4  grains.  The  treasurer  was 
authorized  by  an  act  passed  in  1887  to  redeem  in  standard  silver  dol¬ 
lars  all  trade  dollars  presented  within  the  following  six  months. 

Treasury  Notes. —  The  first  issue  of  treasury  notes  was  necessi¬ 
tated  by  the  War  of  1812.  They  amounted  to  $36,000,000  with  sf  per 
cent,  interest,  and  were  receivable  for  all  dues  to  the  government  but 
were  not  a  legal  tender.  From  the  panic  of  1837  to  the  close  of  the 
Mexican  War,  treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  $73,000,000  were  is¬ 
sued,  and  an  issue  of  $53,000,000  followed  the  panic  of  1857.  In 
1862  an  issue  of  $150,000,000  of  non-interest  bearing  treasury  notes 
were  authorized.  These  were  legal  tender  and  were  known  as  green¬ 
backs.  The  U.  S.  seven-thirties,  of  which  $830,000,000  were  is¬ 
sued,  were  a  variety  of  treasury  notes,  and  treasury  notes  were 
issued  to  pay  for  the  monthly  purchases  of  bullion  authorized  by  the 
Sherman  Act  of  1890. 

Twenty-cent  Piece. —  This  U.  S.  silver  coin  was  minted  from  1875 
to  1878,  when  its  issue  was  discontinued.  It  weighed  77.16  grains, 
was  legal  tender  up  to  $5,  and  circulated  principally  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  for  which  it  was  especially  intended, 


i66 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Wampum.  —  The  shells  strung  together  by  the  Indians  and  used  as 
money  or  worn  as  ornaments.  The  round  clam-shells  were  preferred 
for  this  purpose  though  other  kinds  were  also  commonly  used. 

Merger. — Absorption  of  a  lesser  by  a  greater  debt  or  obligation. 

M.ountains,  Accurate  Method  of  Measuring  Them. —  There  are 
three  ways  of  accomplishing  this  measurement,  so  far  as  their  height 
is  concerned,  namely:  by  the  barometer,  by  observation  of  the 
atmospheric  pressure;  by  observation  of  the  boiling  point  of  water; 
and  by  calculation  from  data  supplied  by  accurate  surveying  instru¬ 
ments,  the  necessary  formulae  being  supplied  by  trigonometry.  This 
last  plan,  known  as  triangulation,  is  by  far  the  most  accurate  method. 
The  first  method  is  based  on  the  fact  that  the  atmosphere  is  densest 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  having  there  to  support  the  weight  of  the 
whole  column  of  air  above  it,  and  the  decrease  in  pressure  being 
known  by  the  barometer  enables  the  observer,  after  due  allowances, 
according  to  temperature,  to  work  out  the  height  of  the  mountain. 
The  second  method  of  observing  the  boiling  point  of  water  by  the 
thermometer  is  based  on  the  well-known  fact  that  water  boils  at  212° 
Fahr.,  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  or  at  a  pressure  of  30  in.  of  mercury; 
and  as  the  relation  between  the  pressure  and  the  boiling  point  is 
known  exactly,  the  height  can  be  measured  in  this  way  more  or  less 
accurately.  Triangulation  is  the  name  applied  to  the  process  of  cal¬ 
culation  by  measuring  the  angles  of  triangles.  The  angles  having 
been  measured  by  the  theodolite,  and  knowing  them  and  one  side, 
trigonometry  enables  the  surveyor  to  calculate  the  other  two. 
Measuring  by  this  method  is  done  with  wonderful  correctness.  Two 
instances  of  this  accuracy  are  given  in  Thornton’s  Physiography, 
one  of  a  plain  and  the  other  of  a  mountain.  The  length  of  Salisbury 
Plain  was  ascertained  with  a  result  which  was  less  than  5  in.  from 
the  measured  value.  The  height  of  Ben-Macdhui  was  calculated  to 
be  4,295.6  ft.,  and  this  height,  when  checked,  proved  to  be  within 
il  in. 

Net. —  The  clear  amount;  what  remains  after  deducting  charges 
and  expenses. 

Overdraw.  —  To  call  for  more  money  than  there  is  on  deposit. 

Paper,  Negotiable. —  Is  documentary  evidence  of  debt,  and  includes 
promissory  notes,  due  bills,  drafts,  checks,  deposit  certificates,  bills  of 
exchange,  bank  bills,  and  treasury  notes.  Such  documentary  evidence 
of  debt  must  contain  a  promise  to  pay  or  an  order  for  another  to 
pay.  One  receiving  such  paper  must  see  that  the  amount  is  exactly 
stated,  that  the  paper  is  transferable  and  signatures  and  names  are 
correctly  written. 


I 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


167 


National  Debts. —  Compiled  from  the  summary  prepared  by  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics,  Treasury  Department. 


Countries 

Year 

National  Debts 

Revenue 

Expenditure 

Commerce  with  the 
United  States 

Total 

Inter’st 

Per 

Cent. 

Per 

Capita 

Exports 
from  United 
States  to — 

Imports  into 
United 
States  from— 

Argentina . 

1900 

$509,604,444 

41^-6 

$128.85 

$63,339,188 

$63,283,632 

$11,558,237 

$8,114,304 

Australasia . 

1900 

1,183,055,000 

3  -5 

263.90 

167,335,000 

161,738,000 

26,725,702 

5,468,196 

Austria-  Hung’ry 

1900 

1,154,791,000 

3  -4 

25.80 

73,659,000 

*73,659,000 

7,046,819 

9,079,667 

Austria . 

1900 

642,194,000 

3  -5 

24.89 

215,237,000 

215,208,000 

(f) 

(t) 

Hungary . 

1900 

904,941,000 

3  -4 

47.75 

209,001,000 

208,509,000 

(1) 

(t) 

Belgmrn . 

1899 

504,459,540 

23^-3 

75.63 

85,494,672 

83,883,860 

48,307,011 

12,940,806 

Bolivia . . 

1898 

2,336,258 

4  -5' 

1.16 

3,431,000 

3,712,000 

59,223 

22 

Brazil . 

1898 

480,985,000 

4  -5 

33.56 

90,152,000 

70,061,000 

11,578,119 

58,073,457 

British  Coloniesg 

1899 

265,541,000 

3  -6 

26.43 

79,956,595 

81,071,024 

41,011,125 

22,687,814 

Canada . 

1900 

265,494,000 

21^-5 

50.59 

1151,030,000 

1142,975,000 

95,319,970 

39,369,074 

Chile . 

1898 

113,240,000 

4J^-5 

36.41 

43,206,000 

38,052,000 

3,287,565 

7,112,826 

China . 

1899 

287,123,500 

434-7 

.72 

173,500,000 

173,500,000 

15,259,167 

26,896,926 

Colombia . 

1898 

15,809,000 

3  -5 

3.95 

7,031,000 

8,697,000 

2,710,688 

4,307,814 

Costa  Rica . 

1899 

13,124,000 

3  -5 

43.75 

3,513,000 

3,180,000 

1,462,355 

2,980,030 

Denmark . 

1899 

55,795,724 

3 

24.15 

19,247,008 

20,619,361 

18,487,991 

920,455 

Ecuador . 

1897 

7,882,435 

334-5 

6.21 

3,564,000 

3,620,000 

1,216,008 

1,524,378 

Egypt . 

1899 

500,402,729 

3  -434 

53.61 

56,424,345 

54,437,259 

1,095,673 

8,278,022 

France . 

1900 

5,800,691,814 

3  -334 

150.61 

691,349,500 

691,291,192 

83,335.097 

73,012,085 

German  Empire 

1900 

557,626,622 

3  -334 

9.96 

471,002,000 

489,804,000 

187,347,889 

97,374,700 

German  States. . 

2,015,958,000 

Greece . 

1900 

168,548,444 

4  -5 

69.25 

13,650,533 

13,626,200 

290,709 

1,122,855 

Guatemala . 

1899 

20,826,507 

4  -5 

13.23 

2,687,000 

2,643,000 

785,462 

2,402,978 

Honduras . 

1899 

89,376,920 

4  -5 

219.60 

1,114,429 

1,119,295 

1,181,453 

988,606 

India  (British) . . 

1899 

1,031,603,705 

234-434 

4.67 

328,955,934 

316,105,507 

4,892,323 

45,355,976 

Italy . 

1899 

2,583,983,780 

334-5 

81.11 

317,349,332 

313,276,071 

33,255,620 

27,924,176 

Japan  . 

1899 

206,799,094 

4  -5 

4.73 

121,433,725 

119,934,893 

29,087,475 

32,748,902 

Mexico . 

1900 

168,771,428 

3  -5 

13.36 

29,267,131 

26,035,775 

34,974,961 

28,646,053 

Netherlands  .... 

1899 

466,410,294 

234-3 

90.74 

58,323,000 

60,922,000 

89,386,676 

15,852,624 

Nicaragua . 

1898 

4,901,819 

4  -6 

9.80 

11,409,950 

12,433,250 

1,817,869 

1,520,266 

Norway . 

1899 

53,211,132 

3  -334 

25.08 

21,457,420 

20,912,308 

Paraguay  . 

1898 

19,972,000 

3  -434 

30.45 

844,000 

892,000 

4,884 

PeruT. . . 

1898 

20,321,784 

4  -6 

4.41 

5,914,000 

6,072,000 

1,662,475 

2,122,543 

Portugal . 

1899 

670,221,374 

3  -434 

143.82 

56,363,000 

59,207,000 

5,886,542 

3,743,216 

Rumania . 

1899 

280,136,991 

4  -5 

47.37 

28,001,000 

29,249,000 

41,562 

101,042 

Russia . 

1899 

3,167,320,000 

3  -5 

24.56 

891,772,000 

921,068,000 

10,488,419 

7,246,981 

Servia . 

1899 

81,972,108 

4  -5 

33.43 

15,144,348 

14,842,825 

Spain . 

1899 

1,727;994,600 

4  -5 

95.53 

170,998,000 

174,752,000 

13,399,680 

5,950,047 

Sweden . 

1899 

85,154,320 

3  -334 

16.71 

39,043,000 

39,043,000 

10,436,467 

4,244,302 

Switzerland . 

1899 

15,919,219 

334 

5.10 

19,392,000 

18,924,000 

250,477 

17,393,268 

Turkev . 

1899 

726,511,195 

3  -5 

29.25 

81,893,462 

81,533,341 

667,062 

7.928,534 

United  Kingdom 

1900 

3,060,926,304 

234-2% 

74.83 

583,201,360 

650,258,113 

533,819,545 

159,582,401 

United  Statesff  . 

1900 

1,107,711,257 

2  -4 

14.52 

669,595,430 

590,068,371 

Uruguay  . 

1899 

124;374,189 

334-5 

148.06 

16;  608;  000 

16;  608,000 

1,816,780 

1,848,077 

Venezuela . 

1898 

37,725,814 

4  -5 

14.51 

6,452,000 

8,790,000 

2,452,757 

5,500,019 

Total . 

.... 

$31,201,759,274 

$24.15 

$5,888,392,563 

$5,875,645,277 

$1,332,308,717 

$750,363,442 

*  Does  not  include  debt  charged  nor  military  expenditures  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  f  Included 
with  Austria-Hungary.  {  Estimated,  g  Except  Australasia,  Canada,  and  British  India.  ]|  From  and  on  ac¬ 
count  of  consolidated  fund.  **  Included  with  Sweden,  ft  Figures  for  June  30,  1900. 

PENMANSHIP. 

Nearly  every  nation  of  antiquity  has  at  some  period 
attributed  the  origin  of  letters  to  the  beneficence  of  the 
that  they  worshiped.  This  appears  not  only  from  the 
writers  but  from  the  nature  and  meaning  of  the  words  used  for 
writing.  In  the  Egyptian  language  the  term  writing signified: 

Writing  heavenly  words.  This  meaning  is  not  only  beautiful  but 
essentially  true,  for  whatever  may  be  the  origin  of  letters,  no  gift  of 


of  its  history 
divine  beings 
statements  of 


i68 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


invention  has  been  so  useful  nor  has  contributed  so  much  to  the  ad¬ 
vancement  and  the  civilization  of  men,  as  the  art  of  writing. 

The  study  of  the  writings  of  the  different  nations  shows  us  that 
there  were  generally  two  motives  that  guided  their  course  of  progress. 
The  most  important  was  the  desire  to  save  work.  The  other  was  the 
love  of  beauty.  The  desire  for  beauty  was  especially  marked  in  the 
Europeans  and  led  to  the  Gothic  script,  but  our  own  forms  of  writing  have 
developed  through  the  constant  forming  of  the  Roman  letters  with  a 
pen  in  such  a  way  as  to  not  only  save  time  but  to  give  the  letters 
lines  of  beauty. 

Whatever  your  profession  in  life  may  be,  there  is  nothing  that  you 
will  find  more  important  to  your  progress  than  the  art  of  writing  well. 
The  world  has  many  places  for  good  penmen.  Too  many  people  look 
upon  writing  as  something  that  anybody  can  accomplish  and  think 
that  it  does  not  matter  how  it  is  done.  A  certain  amount  of  individ¬ 
uality  in  penmanship  there  will  surely  be,  but  this  can  remain  even 
if  the  fixed  rules  for  good  penmanship  are  closely  followed.  Your 
own  characteristic  style  will  take  chre  of  itself,  and,  if  you  carefully 
follow  the  rules  which  are  considered  as  essential  in  the  art  of  writing 
well,  you  will  not  only  learn  to  write  a  good  clear  hand,  but  will 
always  preserve  it. 

It  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  use  of  the  pen,  even  for 
long  periods  of  time,  is  not  unhealthful  or  exhausting,  providing  it  is 
used  in  the  right  way.  This  is  a  very  important  matter  to  book¬ 
keepers,  copyists,  or  others  who  are  using  a  pen  constantly,  and  who 
are  liable  to  what  is  known  as  writer’s  cramp,  unless  they  carefully 
observe  the  rules  for  correctly  holding  the  pen.  Some  people  sit 
down  to  write  as  if  they  were  inviting  an  attack  of  cramps.  They 
sit  or  hold  the  pen  so  as  to  produce  an  undue  strain  on  muscles 
which  ought  to  act  freely.  There  is  no  occupation  more  tedious  and 
none  more  severe  upon  the  energies  of  a  person  than  the  use  of  the  pen 
by  improper  methods.  Many  men  and  women  whose  health  has  bro¬ 
ken  under  the  task  of  writing,  have  failed  and  suffered,  not  so  much 
from  the  difficulty  of  their  work  as  from  the  attempt  to  do  it  in  the 
unnatural  and  the  hardest  way.  It  is  no  use  to  fight  against  nature 
and  whoever  attempts  it  must  suffer  in  the  end. 

The  knowledge  pertaining  to  penmanship  has  been  classified  and 
the  rules  of  the  natural  methods  have  been  made  complete.  Anyone 
who  follows  them  carefully  will  be  rewarded  by  a  power  to  write 
easily  and  rapidly. 

The  style  of  writing  which  has  had  the  approval  of  a  long  period 
is  known  as  the  slanting  or  Spencerian  style.  The  letters  are  formed 
at  an  oblique  angle  to  the  line.  A  mode  which  has  recently  come 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


169 


into  common  use  in  many  schools  is  called  the  vertical  style,  for  the 
letters  are  formed  perpendicularly  to  the  line.  Some  advantages  in 
the  way  of  clearness  are  claimed  for  this,  but  the  friends  of  the  old 
method  say  that  vertical  letters  do  not  admit  of  either  the  grace  or 
the  rapidity  of  the  old  method.  But  whichever  style  is  used,  the 
general  rules  for  the  natural  way  of  using  the  pen  apply.  These  are 
more  important  than  the  mere  matter  of  the  slant  of  the  lettqrs. 

Attention  must  first  be  paid  to  the  matter  of  a  correct  position. 
You  cannot  write  well  lying  down,  nor  can  you  write  well  if  you 
curl  yourself  up  into  an  awkward  and  cramped  position  at  the  table 
or  desk.  There  are  recognized  three  different  positions,  any  one  of 
which  is  proper.  The  Front  Position  is  most  generally  used  and 
most  recommended,  especially  to  students  who  are  learning  to  write. 
In  this  position  you  should  sit  square  with  the  desk  but  not  in  contact 
with  it.  Keep  the  body  erect  and  the  feet  level  on  the  floor.  Place 
the  paper  on  the  table  directly  in  front  of  you  and,  if  you  are  to 
write  by  the  slanting  method,  it  should  be  in  a  position  oblique  to 
the  body  but  square  with  the  right  hand.  If  using  the  vertical 
method,  the  paper  should  be  nearer  square  with  the  body.  Let  the 
left  arm  rest  on  the  table  with  the  hand  on  the  paper  to  steady  it. 

In  what  is  known  as  the  Right  Side  Position  you  should  sit  with 
the  right  side  to  the  desk  but  wdthout  touching  it.  Let  the  paper  lie 
square  with  the  edge  of  the  desk  or  nearly  so  and  place  the  right  arm 
on  the  desk  parallel  to  the  edge.  The  left  hand  may  be  placed  on 
the  paper  so  that  the  left  arm  makes  right  angles  to  the  right  arm. 
If  the  paper  is  made  fast  the  left  hand  may  be  left  free.  This  is  a 
good  position  to  use,  therefore,  if  you  wish  to  hold  a  book  in  the 
left  hand  while  writing.  In  this  position  as  in  the  other  and  in  fact 
in  any  position  the  body  should  be  erect  and  the  feet  should  rest 
squarely  on  the  floor. 

The  Left  Side  Position  is  a  very  convenient  one  in  counting 
houses  where  large  books  are  used.  The  left  side  is  turned  to  the 
desk  and  the  left  arm  is  placed  parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  desk  with 
the  hand  on  the  paper  above  the  writing.  The  right  arm  should  be 
nearly  at  a  right  angle  with  the  desk.  The  most  important  matter 
to  observe  in  all  these  positions  is  that  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and 
right  hand  should  be  free  to  move.  Any  position  which  binds  the  right 
arm  to  the  desk  requires  the  muscles  of  the  hand  to  do  all  the  work. 
This  in  time  must  result  in  weariness  and  pains  not  only  in  the  hand 
but  in  the  arm.  Moreover,  it  cannot  result  in  good  penmanship. 

Three  different  movements  may  be  noticed  in  writing:  First,  the 
Finger  Movement;  second,  the  Forearm  or  Muscular  Movement,  and 
third,  the  Off  Hand  or  Whole  Arm  Movement. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


170 


To  secure  the  proper  Finger  Movement  the  arm  should  touch  the 
table  on  the  muscles  only  and  about  three  inches  from  the  elbow. 
You  should  hold  the  wrist  clear  from  the  table  and  square,  so  that  a 
pencil  laid  on  the  wrist  would  be  nearly  in  a  horizontal  position. 
Always  hold  the  pen  between  the  thumb  and  first  and  second  fingers. 
Keep  the  second  finger  nearly  straight  with  the  tip  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  from  the  point  of  the  pen.  The  penholder  should 
rest  half-way  between  the  tip  of  the  finger  and  the  first  joint.  The 
forefinger  which  should  also  be  nearly  straight,  should  rest  over  the 
holder.  The  thumb,  slightly  bent  with  its  end  against  the  holder 
opposite  the  first  joint  of  the  forefinger,  keeps  the  holder  in  a  proper 
position.  Guard  against  letting  the  holder  drop  into  the  hollow 
between  the  forefinger  and  the  thumb.  The  upward  strokes  of  the 
pen  are  made  by  extending  the  first  two  fingers  and  thumb  and  the 
downward  strokes  by  contracting  them.  The  hand  should  glide  over 
the  paper  on  the  nails  of  the  third  and  fourth  fingers  which  should 
be  kept  closed  above  the  second  joints.  This  position  you  will  see  if 
you  will  try  it  gives  the  hand  perfect  freedom  and  enables  it  to 
readily  guide  the  pen  in  any  desired  direction  with  very  little  effort. 

The  same  position  of  arm  and  hand  is  used  in  the  Muscular  or 
Forearm  Movement  as  in  the  Finger  Movement,  but  instead  of  form¬ 
ing  the  letters  by  the  extension  and  contraction  of  the  fingers,  they 
are  formed  by  letting  the  hand,  the  wrist,  and  the  pen  move  together. 
The  pen  practically  remains  fixed  in  the  fingers,  but  the  arm,  rolling 
on  the  muscle  near  the  elbow,  gives  the  necessary  motion  for  the 
making  of  the  letters.  Undoubtedly  you  will  find  that  this  does  not 
come  so  easily  or  so  naturally  at  first  as  the  Finger  Movement,  but  it 
is  regarded  as  the  proper  movement  for  business  writing.  You  will 
notice  it  often  if  you  are  in  banks  or  counting  houses.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  practise  the  movement  when  you  are  learning  to  write  and 
in  a  short  time  with  care  you  will  acquire  a  good  business  hand. 

When  a  business  man  is  seeking  good  clerks  or  employees  he 
always  wishes  to  see  a  sample  of  their  handwriting  and  he  can  tell 
very  quickly  something  of  the  qualifications  of  an  applicant  by  the 
way  he  writes.  If  he  sees  a  good  business  hand,  such  as  you  may 
with  practice  acquire  by  the  Forearm  Movement,  he  will  give  the  one 
who  shows  it  the  preference,  other  things  being  equal. 

The  Off  Hand  or  Whole  Arm  Movement  is  only  used  in  making 
large  capital  letters  or  in  ornamental  writing.  It  consists  in  raising 
the  elbow  from  the  desk  and  moving  the  whole  arm  with  the  pen. 
The  hand  slides  along  on  the  nails  of  the  third  and  fourth  fingers. 
This  is  such  a  movement  as  you  would  make  if  you  were  writing  in 
large  letters  on  a  blackboard.  It  is  frequently  useful  to  a  good  pen- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


171 

man,  but  the  essentials  of  a  good  hand  are  all  contained  in  the  first 
two  movements  mentioned. 

Very  often  new  styles,  something  like  the  varied  fashions  in  dress, 
come  into  more  or  less  common  use.  One  of  these  consists  in  taking 
the  penholder  between  the  first  and  second  fingers.  This  is  apt  to 
be  formed  by  those  using  a  stub  pen.  But  a  position  like  this  is  not 
adapted  to  constant  writing  nor  does  it  make  a  good  business  hand. 
Such  a  method  is  apt  to  lead  to  a  sprawling  style  of  writing  and  it 
is  generally  hard  to  read  when  the  writer  attempts  to  write  fast. 
Moreover,  it  cramps  the  hand.  It  is  not  so  easy  on  the  nerves. 
Anyone  who  is  compelled  to  write  his  signature  a  great  many  times 
a  day^  one  signature  following  another,  will  find  himself  quickly  worn 
out  with  the  effort,  unless  he  adopts  one  of  the  proper  positions 
described  above. 

If  you  wish  to  write  nicely  you  should  practise  writing  by  these 
proper  movements  of  the  hand  and  fingers,  hand  and  arm,  and  then 
adhere  to  them.  When  you  have  acquired  enough  skill  to  write  well  in 
this  way,  you  would  destroy  all  your  good  work  if  you  tried  to  adopt 
another  method  which  might  come  into  style  for  the  time  being.  In 
trying  to  learn  the  new  style  you  would  not  simply  undo  all  your 
good  work  on  the  old  but  what  you  had  done  would  prevent  your 
accomplishment  of  good  penmanship  by  the  new  method.  One  would 
destroy  the  other.  Business  men  see  many  samples  of  handwriting 
showing  that  the  gift  of  writing  clearly  has  been  destroyed  in  this 
way.  It  will  be  evident  in  the  irregularity  of  the  letters.  It^  is  this 
which  often  makes  such  a  style  difficult  to  read.  By  making  such  a 
mistake  you  will  find  that  you  get  into  the  way  of  never  writing 
twice  alike.  The  writing  at  the  end  of  a  short  letter  even,  will  not 
look  like  that  at  the  beginning.  This  fault  would  prevent  your 
keeping  a  neat  set  of  books.  You  can  only  do  this  by  adopting  a 
proper  style  and  sticking  to  it. 

Having  secured  an  understanding  of  the  proper  position  to  assume 
and  the  correct  movements  to  miake  in  your  pen  practice,  you  should 
then  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  on  which  different  letters 
are  formed.  While  no  two  letters  are  alike,  it  is  found  that  when 
correctly  made  all  are  made  iip  of  straight  and  curved  lines.  The 

straight  lines  should  all  be  parallel  and  of  the  same  slant.  The 

curved  ones  are  either  convex  or  curving  outward;  concave  or  curv' 
ing  inward  and  sometimes  a  combination  of  the  two  called  compound 
curves.  Now  in  all  the  poor  handwriting  you  observe,  you  will 

notice  that  the  straight  lines  are  not  always  of  the  same  slant.  This 

gives  the  writing  a  ragged  and  uneven  appearance.  Then  you  will 
notice  that  some  lines  are  curved  that  should  be  straight,  and  you 


172 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


will  see  that  of  the  curved  lines  some  curve  too  much  and  some  not 
enough.  No  good  penmanship  has  such  variations  as  these.  Every 
stroke  of  the  pen  will  show  perfectly  one  of  these  three  principles 
of  formation  of  letters.  It  is  these  which  give  a  good  handwriting 
that  even  appearance. 

In  vertical  writing  the  straight  lines  are  of  course  perpendicular 
^nd  the  curved  lines  conform  to  them,  but  in  the  older  style  of  mak¬ 
ing  -slanting  letters,  good  penmen  are  agreed  that  the  angle  or  slant 
should  be  about  53  degrees  from  the  base  line.  You  know  that  a 
right  angle  is  90  degrees  and  thus  an  angle  of  53  degrees  would  be 
a  little  more  than  half  of  a  right  angle.  To  write  at  a  slant  of  45 
degrees  or  half  of  the  right  angle  would  give  it  too  much  of  a  slant 
either  for  speed  or  good  looks. 

Shading  is  not  essential  to  good  writing  but  when  it  is  properly 
done  adds  to  its  beauty.  It  is  always  made  w^hen  the  pen  is  brought 
toward  you  by  pressing  slightly  and  gradually  on  the  pen.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  press  too  suddenly  or  too  hard.  Too  much 
shading  is  not  only  tiresome  for  the  hand  but  destroys  the  beauty  of 
the  writing.  There  should  never  be  but  one  shade  in  a  capital  let¬ 
ter.  In  the  small  letters  many  prefer  to  shade  only  the  letters  d,  p, 
and  t.  At  any  rate  it  will  be  better  for  you  when  learning  to  write 
or  in  striving  to  improve  your  writing  to  follow  this  plan  at  first. 
After  the  principles  of  the  formation  of  the  letters  are  mastered  you 
may  practise  shading  with  less  danger  of  mistakes.  You  can  always 
tell  where  a  capital  letter  should  be  shaded,  for  as  a  rule  it  can  con¬ 
veniently  occur  in  but  one  place.  It  is  always  when  the  pen  is  drawn 
directly  toward  you. 

It  will  be  of  advantage  to  you  in  the  first  place  to  make  a  study 
of  each  letter  before  you  attempt  to  write  sentences.  Many  people 
fail  to  acquire  a  good  handwriting  because  they  never  take  the  trouble 
to  do  this  but  begin  at  once  to  copy  lines.  In  doing  this  they  strive 
simply  to  imitate  the  general  appearance  of  the  copy,  without  being 
informed  of  the  real  principles  on  which  the  letters  w^ere  formed. 
Get  a  perfect  understanding  of  one  letter  before  you  go  to  another. 
Learn  just  how  it  is  made  and  then  practise  making  it  till  it  comes 
easily.  This  is  the  same  kind  of  practice  which  would  be  required  of 
you  were  you  to  study  drawing.  You  would  not  sit  down  to  draw  a 
picture  at  once.  At  first  you  would  be  told  to  practise  in  making 
straight  lines  and  then  in  drawing  curved  lines  with  reference  to  the 
straight  ones.  In  time  you  could  draw  a  face  or  a  tree  but  you  could 
draw  nothing  well  till  you  had  first  mastered  the  principles. 

You  will  find  that  all  small  letters  are  formed  by  a  combination 
of  three  different  lines,  a  concave  curve,  a  convex  curve,  and  a  straight 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


173 


line,  and  by  making  these  lines  all  at  the  same  angle  your  letters  will 
all  be  alike. 

The  line  on  which  the  writing  rests  is  called  the  base  line  and 
that  at  the  head  of  the  shorter  of  the  small  letters  is  called  the  head 
line.  While  both  lines  are  used  for  the  first  instruction  in  writing, 
only  the  base  line  is  used  on  ordinary  paper.  It  is  supposed  that 
the  writer  will  become  so  proficient  in  making  the  small  letters  that 
he  will  need  only  the  base  line  to  guide  him.  Many  prefer  no  line 
at  all. 

The  first  principle  of  making  small  letters  is  a  convex  curve  com¬ 
mencing  at  the  base  line  and  running  at  the  proper  angle  to  the  head 
line.  When  you  write  the  small  letter  a  for  example,  you  begin  at 
the  base  line  and  run  a  convex  curve  to  the  head  line.  You  then 
come  back  to  the  base  line  with  another  convex  curve.  The  next 
move  is  on  the  second  principle  of  the  coneave  curve  by  which  the 
pen  ascends  again  to  the  head  line.  You  next  return  the  pen  to  the 
base  line  with  a  perfectly  straight  line  which  is  the  third  principle. 
You  then  finish  the  letter  with  a  line  which  will  connect  it  with  the 
next  letter  and  which  may  be  either  a  convex  or  concave  curve 
according  to  the  letter. 

In  making  this  letter,  therefore,  there  are  five  distinct  movements 
but  they  are  of  only  three  kinds.  No  matter  how  many  movements 
are  required  to  form  any  small  letter,  you  will  always  find  that  they 
are  always  of  these  three  kinds.  You  can  do  no  better  than  to  prac¬ 
tise  for  a  little  in  making  these  different  curves  and  the  straight 
line.  When  you  have  onee  become  skilful  in  this,  the  making  of  good 
letters  will  come  easily.  Study  each  letter  in  your  copy  and  observe 
just  how  the  three  different  lines  are  employed  in  eaeh. 

You  will  notice  the  same  kinds  of  lines  in  the  formation  of  cap¬ 
ital  letters.  One  very  common  stroke  is  the  Capital  Stem  which  you 
recognize  as  the  first  part  of  the  letters  A  and  M.  This  is  modified 
in  various  letters,  but  all  are  formed  of  convex  and  concave  curves. 
So  also  are  the  oval  forms,  sueh  as  are  seen  in  the  capital  letter  O. 
There  is  an  inverted  oval  which  is  used  in  the  first  part  of  the  letter 
W.  By  a  little  examination  of  3^our  copy  in  accordance  with  these 
simple  principles  you  will  observe  at  once  the  proper  way  for  making 
all  the  letters. 

If  you  have  alread}^  learned  to  write  merely  by  copying  certain 
lines  of  copy  and  without  an  understanding  of  the  principles,  you 
can  greatly  improve  your  hand  by  practice  according  to  the  principles. 
Take  any  letter  and  write  it  a  great  many  times  in  succession,  study¬ 
ing  carefully  the  nature  of  each  curve.  You  cannot  give  too  much 
care  to  these  little  things  at  first.  After  a  time  they  will  become 


174 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


second  nature  and  you  will  see  that  it  is  as  easy  to  write  a  perfect 
and  a  graceful  hand  as  it  was  to  write  in  an  uneven,  careless  way. 

Many  people  write  fairly  well  when  young  but  gradually  get  care¬ 
less  and  allow  their  writing  to  become  worse  and  worse  till  it  is 
well-nigh  impossible  to  read  it.  Those  who  are  writing  very  much 
and  very  rapidly  easily  fall  into  this  mistake.  They  might  easily 
avoid  it  with  a  little  care  and  they  would  save  their  friends  a  great 
deal  of  time  in  trying  to  make  out  letters  they  have  received.  But 
those  who  fall  into  this  habit  are  generally  those  who  learned  to 
write  without  an  understanding  of  the  first  principles.  They  just  let 
their  handwriting  grow  up  as  a  tree  does  in  the  woods  without  any 
care.  With  a  handwriting  properly  acquired  in  the  first  place,  you 
will  find  that  you  may  easily  preserve  it,  no  matter  how  much  it  may 
be  your  lot  to  write  or  how  rapidly.  Many  people  who  have  care¬ 
fully  followed  these  rules  have  been  able  to  write  beautifully  grace¬ 
ful  hands  when  they  have  become  very  old. 

Flourishing  is  the  art  of  making  various  figures  of  beautifying 
letters  by  means  of  a  rapid  whole  arm  movement  of  the  pen.  This 
species  of  the  penman’s  art  was  practised  in  very  early  days  of  writing. 
It  was  regarded  not  only  as  a  distinctive  feature  of  penmanship  in 
the  production  of  designs  representing  birds,  animals,  and  fishes,  but 
it  was  used  for  the  embellishment  of  writing  important  documents. 
It  was  of  greater  practical  advantage  in  former  times  than  it  is 
to-day. 

Before  the  discovery  of  printing  when  the  books  of  the  world  were 
written  and  during  the  centuries  immediately  following  the  discovery 
of  printing  the  art  of  flourishing  was  extensively  used.  It  was  con¬ 
sidered  as  a  valuable  accomplishment  and  anyone  who  could  do  it 
nicely  was  sure  of  plenty  of  work.  Many  of  the  written  books  were 
illustrated  with  fanciful  pen  designs  called  illuminations  and  impor¬ 
tant  state  papers  or  letters  patent  or  charters  were  beautifully  written 
and  embellished  by  clever  penmen.  Even  now  such  services  are  often 
required  in  making  certificates  of  membership  in  societies  or  in  me¬ 
morial  resolutions  which  are  intended  to  be  framed  for  preserva¬ 
tion. 

But  a  good  round  clear  hand\  is  now  generally  regarded  as  of 
much  more  practical  advantage.  Every  legislature,  including  the  Con¬ 
gress  of  the  United  States,  has  engrossing  clerks  who  write  out  the 
official  Copies  of  bills  and  resolutions  on  very  durable  paper.  It  is 
necessary  that  such  documents  should  not  only  be  perfectly  legible 
but  that  they  should  be  punctuated  exactly  right.  Often  grave  dis¬ 
putes  in  law  arise  over  the  meaning  of  the  words,  and  this  meaning 
very  often  depends  upon  where  a  comma  or  a  semicolon  is  placed. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


175 


If  you  should  go  to  Washington  you  would  find  in  the  archives  of 
the  Department  of  State  many  volumes  of  bills  and  other  documents 
which  have  been  written  by  penmen  who  write  perfect  hands.  These 
are  the  official  copies.  All  printed  laws  are  made  from  copies  of 
these.  The  clerks  who  make  these  copies  do  nothing  else  and  receive 
handsome  salaries  for  their  work.  They  have  acquired  the  skill  in 
writing  perfectly  through  the  practice  of  the  principles  which  have 
been  stated  above. 

In  some  of  these  documents  you  will  observe  evidences  of  skill  in 
flourishing  with  the  pen,  and  the  exercise  of  the  hand  in  making  long, 
graceful  lines  tends  to  give  ease  and  dexterity  in  the  execution  of 
practical  writing.  When  seated  for  flourishing  you  should  employ  the 
Front  Position,  already  explained,  for  it  enables  one  to  use  the  arm 
more  freely.  The  pen  must  be  held  differently  so  as  to  give  the 
shading  to  the  upward  or  outward  stroke  instead  of  the  downward  or 
inward  stroke  as  in  the  direct  or  ordinary  position  when  writing. 

Sit  squarely  at  the  desk,  as  close  as  is  practicable  without  touch¬ 
ing  it.  Let  the  left  hand  rest  upon  and  hold  the  paper  in  the  proper 
position  which  must  always  be  in  harmony  with  the  position  of  the 
right  hand  -and  pen.  The  penholder  is  held  between  the  thumb  and 
first  and  fore  fingers.  The  thumb  presses  upon  the  holder  about  two 
inches  from  the  point  of  the  pen.  The  first  finger  is  bent  at  the 
second  joint  and  forms  nearly  a  right  angle.  It  is  held  considerably 
back  of  the  second  finger  which  rests  upon  the  under  side  of  the 
holder  and  supports  it.  It  should  rest  about  midway  between 
the  thumb  and  the  point  of  the  pen.  The  third  finger  rests  upon  the 
fourth.  The  nail  of  the  latter  rests  lightly  upon  the  paper  about  one 
and  one -half  inches  from  the  pen  in  a  straight  line  from  the  point, 
and  parallel  with  the  arm. 

For  some  kinds  of  work  in  which  longer  lines  are  made,  the 
position  may  be  changed  so  that  the  ball  of  the  hand  instead  of  the 
nail  of  the  fourth  finger  rests  upon  the  table  or  paper.  This  method 
is  preferred  in  work  requiring  large  sweeps  of  the  pen.  In  the 
former  method  the  fingers  are  liable  to  strike  into  the  ink  lines  and 
mar  the  work.  In  the  ornamentation  of  letters  and  in  the  making  of 
small  designs  or  in  any  off-hand  pen  work  the  former  method  is,  how¬ 
ever,  generally  employed. 

The  movement  employed  in  all  flourishing  is  that  of  the  whole 
arm.  This  is  obtained  by  raising  the  entire  arm  free  from  the  table. 
The  hand  rests  lightly  upon  the  nail  of  the  fourth  finger  and  all  the 
motion  of  the  arm  is  from  the  shoulder.  This  gives  the  greatest 
freedom  and  scope  to  the  movements  of  the  pen.  The  same  move¬ 
ment  is  used  when  making  large  capitals.  When  the  arm  rests  upon 


176 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


the  ball  of  the  hand  the  hand  does  more  and  the  arm  less,  for  the 
hand  works  upon  the  ball  as  a  pivot.  But  in  all  cases  the  arm  should 
be  free  to  move. 

You  should  not  make  any  attempts  to  acquire  the  art  of  flourish¬ 
ing’  till  you  have  mastered  the  principles  of  making  good  letters  and 
perfected  your  writing  so  far  as  possible.  When  this  has  been  done 
you  will  find  the  practice  in  flourishing,  while  a  separate  accomplish¬ 
ment,  will  give  you  a  greater  facility  in  ordinary  writing.  But  flour¬ 
ishing  should  not  be  a  part  of  your  ordinary  writing.  You  should 
strive  to  make  that  plain  and  even.  Flourishing  will  provide  you  with 
amusement  for  many  an  hour  and  will  enable  you  in  time  to  draw 
some  very  beautiful  designs  with  the  pen.  It  will  often  supplement 
your  writing,  for  sometimes  you  may  wish  to  prepare  some  paper 
with  ornamental  letters  or  designs.  As  a  rule  the  practice  of  form¬ 
ing  with  the  pen  good  German  text  or  other  ornamental  letters  is  of 
more  practical  advantage  than  the  making  of  fancy  birds  or  animals. 
Ornamental  letters  are  often  used  in  the  titles  to  documents  or  archi¬ 
tect’s  plans.  If  you  do  not  care  to  perfect  yourself  in  the  use  of  the 
pen  for  ornamental  work  you  may  gain  considerable  amusement  by 
copying  designs  by  what  is  known  as  the  Transfer  Process.  This  has 
long  been  known  to  penmen  and  pen  artists  and  is  frequently  used 
when  exact  copies  are  required.  It  is  so  simple  and  easy  that  a  child 
can  make  an  exact  copy  of  any  kind  of  ornamental  pen  work  or  even 
of  outline  pictures.  It  will  not  teach  you  how  to  make  the  originals 
and  yet  it  will  give  you  a  good  idea  of  how  they  are  made  and  the 
kinds  of  lines  that  are  used. 

Any  kind  of  paper  that  is  so  thin  that  lines  can  be  readily  seen 
through  it  will  do,  but  it  is  better  to  secure  regular  transfer  paper 
which  is  not  only  very  thin  but  is  so  made  as  to  be  transparent. 
Take  a  sheet  of  this  paper  and  place  it  on  the  picture  to  be  copied. 
Then  with  a  good  lead  pencil  trace  all  the  outlines  and  shadings  of 
the  entire  picture.  Do  not  neglect  any  line  but  make  a  complete  and 
perfect  picture  on  the  transfer  paper  of  the  original. 

Having  done  this  turn  your  paper  over  and  blacken  the  whole  of 
the  other  side  of  it.  You  will  readily  see  why  this  is  done.  If  you 
attempted  to  transfei  the  pencil  drawing  to  white  paper  the  picture, 
while  like  the  original,  would  be  turned  around  so  that  it  would  face 
the  other  way.  This  is  avoided  by  blackening  the  whole  of  the  other 
side  of  the  transfer  paper. 

When  you  have  done  this,  place  the  transfer  paper,  blackened  side 
down,  on  your  white  paper  and  with  a  hard,  fine-pointed  lead  pencil 
trace  over  all  the  outlines  and  shadings  of  the  entire  picture.  As 
you  do  this  the  lead  on  the  blackened  side  will  mark  the  impression 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


177 


on  the  white  paper.  Thus  you  will  print  in  pencilings  a  perfect  copy 
of  the  original  and  it  will  face  the  same  way. 

When  you  have  done  this  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  finish  the 
picture  with  a  pen  and  ink.  Put  the  ink  on  over  the  pencilings  and 
shade  according  to  the  shading  of  the  original.  After  the  ink  is  on, 
erase  the  pencil  marks  with  a  rubber.  Care  should  be  taken  in  hll 
these  operations  to  keep  the  paper  from  moving  so  that  none  of  the 
lines  or  shades  may  be  misplaced. 

If  you  read  these  instructions  carefully  you  may  sit  down  and 
make  an  exact  copy  of  any  outline  picture  you  may  wish  and  do  it 
so  nicely  and  perfectly  that  you  will  be  surprised  at  yourself.  It  is 
of  course  not  much  of  an  accomplishment  and  it  would  be  much 
better  for  you  to  learn  to  make  nice  originals  with  your  pen.  But 
not  everyone  has  the  gift  for  such  work  and  if  you  have  not,  you 
will  find  the  transfer  process  will  furnish  you  good  profitable  amuse¬ 
ment  and  some  instruction. 

If  you  are  clever  with  your  pen,  never  put  it  to  anything  except 
good  uses.  Your  gift  will  delight  others  as  well  as  yourself  if  you 
make  pictures  which  will  delight  any  eye.  There  have  been  some 
wonderful  penmen  in  the  world  who  have  put  their  accomplishment 
to  bad  purposes  and  have  suffered  accordingly.  Once  the  United 
States  Government  detected  a  counterfeit  of  a  one  hundred  dollar  bill 
which  was  so  good  that  it  passed  through  one  of  the  banks.  A  few 
inches  away  it  seemed  perfect,  but  a  closer  examination  revealed  at 
once  that  it  was  done  with  a  fine  steel  pen.  The  penman  was  arrested 
and  spent  a  long  period  of  his  life  in  a  prison  and  died  poor  and 
miserable.  He  had  a  gift  which  if  properly  used  would  have  gained 
him  riches  and  fame.  As  it  was  his  gift  and  all  the  long  hours  he 
had  spent  in  training  himself  only  went  to  make  him  a  miserable  out¬ 
cast.  Happiness  can  come  only  when  your  gifts  and  accomplishments 
are  ever  employed  in  a  good  purpose. 


Permit. —  Written  authority  to  remove  dutiable  goods. 

Personal  Property.  —  Chattels  which  consist  of  things  temporary 
and  movable,  including  all  property  not  of  a  freehold  nature. 

Policy. —  The  instrument  by  which  a  contract  of  insurance  is  made. 

Poll-tax. —  A  tax  levied  upon  the  person  of  the  citizen  himself, 
in  distinction  from  that  upon  property. 

Post  Obit. —  A  promise  to  pay  loans  after  the  death  of  some  person. 

Preferred  Creditor. —  One  whom  a  bankrupt  debtor  elects  to  pay 
first. 


13—12 


178 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Principal. — The  sum  on  which  interest  is  paid. 

Protest. —  Notice  to  the  sureties  of  a  note  that  it  was  not  paid  at 
maturity  or  to  the  drawer  of  a  draft  that  acceptance  was  refused. 

Punctuation  is  the  art  of  dividing  composition  by  points  or  stops 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  more  clearly  the  sense  and  the  relation 
of  the  words,  and  of  noting  the  different  pauses  and  inflections 
required  in  reading.  Though  necessary  to  the  clear  expression  of 
thought  in  writing,  few  master  the  proper  use  of  punctuation,  and  so 
often  give  trouble  to  their  correspondents,  and  are  perhaps  misin¬ 
formed  as  to  what  they  designed  to  say  or  relate.  How  necessary  it 
is  to  punctuate  properly  may  be  seen  from  the  following  confused 
sentence :  — 

The  party  consisted  of  Mr.  Smith  a  merchant  his  sister  a  governess 
Senator  Jones  a  Southerner  his  aunt  and  a  young  lad. 

Without  punctuation  it  is  impossible  to  gather  how  many  were  in 
the  party,  or  what  their  relationship  was.  If  commas  are  inserted, 
it  will  appear  that  the  party  comprised  eight  people,  thus:  — 

The  party  consisted  of  Mr,  Smithy  a  merchant^  his  sister,,  a  gov¬ 
erness,  Senator  Jo7ies,  a  Southerner,  his  aunt,  and  a  young  lad. 

By  inserting  semicolons  in  place  of  commas,  the  number  of  the 
party  is  reduced  to  five,  as  follows:  — 

The  party  consisted  of  Mr,  Smith,  a  merchant ;  his  sister,  a  gov- 
er7iess ;  Senator  Jones,  a  Southerner ;  his  au7tt,  ayid  a  young  lad. 

Usage,  as  a  rule,  determines  how  compositions  ought  to  be  punc¬ 
tuated,  so  it  is  not  safe  to  lay  down  arbitrarily  any  hard  and  fast  rule. 
This,  however,  should  not  prevent  one  from  paying  attention  to  the 
matter,  and  fall  into  the  habit  of  careless  and  slovenly  writing. 


Punctuation  Points  and  Accents 


Period . 

Colon . 

Semicolon . 

Comma . 

Interrogation  Point 
Exclamation  Point. 


Dash .  — 

Parentheses .  (  ) 

Brackets .  [  ] 

Hyphen .  - 


Quotation  Marks 
Apostrophe . 


Ellipsis . j  i  i  i 

Caret . 

Index .  -6®=“ 

Paragraph .  ^ 


Brace. . . . . . | 

Accute  Accent .  e 

Grave  Accent .  e 

Circumflex  Accent .  § 

Tilde,  or  Circumflex .  g 

The  Long,  or  Macron .  .  g 

The  Short,  or  Breve . e 

Diaeresis .  e 

Cedilla .  g 

Asterisk .  ♦ 

Dagger,  or  Obelisk .  f 

Double  Dagger .  J 

Section .  g 

Parallel .  y 

Leader .  [ . ] 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


179 


Plural  of  Foreign  Nouns,  Rules  for  the. —  In  forming  the  plural 
of  foreign  nouns,  the  following  rules  apply: — ■ 

The  termination  A  becomes  JE;  sometimes  ata^  as  larva,  larvae; 
miasma,  miasmata. 

Is  becomes  Es,  sometimes  Ides,  as  axis,  axes;  apsis,  apsides. 

Us  becomes  I,  as  magus,  magi;  but  genus  becomes  genera. 

Um  and  On  become  A,  datum,  data;  phenomenon,  phenomena. 

Ex  and  Ix  become  Ices,  as  vortex,  vortices;  helix,  helices. 

O  becomes  I,  as  virtuoso,  virtuosi.  (See  Spelling.) 

Real  Estate. —  This  term  in  law  includes  land,  and  whatever  else 
attaches  to  or  is  a  part  of  it:  either  added  by  nature,  as  trees,  min¬ 
erals,  water,  or  by  artificial  construction,  as  houses,  etc. 


REAL  ESTATE,  INVESTMENTS  IN 


Character  of  Such  Investments  —  Caution  Needed  in  Dealing  with  Agents  — 
Title  Guaranty  Companies — -Real  Estate  Investments  Compared  —  Manner 
OF  Preparing  Deeds  —  Deeds  in  Wife’s  Name — Bills  of  Sale  —  Official 
Records  of  Realty  Transactions — Improved  Real  Estate  Should  be  In¬ 
sured —  Landlords  and  Tenants  —  The  Art  of  Renting  Houses — Present 
Tendency  of  Real  Estate  toward  Steadiness. 

IN  TOWNS  and  cities,  investments  in  real  estate  are  often  pressed  upon 
the  attention  of  persons  who  have  money  to  spend.  An  improved 
lot,  bringing  in  rent  enough  to  pay  taxes,  insurance,  repairs,  and 
interest  upon  the  purchase  money,  is  a  good  investment  when  bought 
at  a  fair  price ;  but  there  are  usually  too  many  experienced  investors 
ready  for  such  a  purchase  to  leave  many  bargains  for  the  inexperi¬ 
enced.  The  best  opportunity  for  the  latter  is  when  times  are  hard, 
money  in  demand,  and  real  estate  depressed  in  value.  Even  then, 
the  price  paid  should  bear  a  proper  relation  to  the  present  earning 
power  of  the  property,  with  reasonable  assurance  that  both  the  prop¬ 
erty  and  the  neighborhood  have  a  promising  future.  For  a  building 
is  constantly  becoming  the  worse  for  wear  and  out  of  date,  so  that 
the  wisdom  of  any  purchase  must  rest  largely,  in  the  end,  upon  the 
value  of  the  ground.  That  is  a  reason  for  estimating  the  values  of 
ground  and  building  separately,  according  to  the  invariable  custom  of 
real  estate  experts.  If  the  purchase  be  store  property,  the  future 
business  prospects  of  the  street  must  be  considered,  and  care  be  taken 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


180 

not  to  buy  a  piece  of  ground  too  small  for  such  a  building  as  the  fu¬ 
ture  business  necessities  of  the  locality  are  likely  to  require.  If  it 
be  a  dwelling,  the  tendency  of  the  people  who  live  in  rented  dwell¬ 
ings  to  move  to  the  newer  and  better  suburban  dwellings,  made  ac¬ 
cessible  by  modern  methods  of  rapid  transit,  ought  to  be  kept  in  mind. 
The  effect  of  the  multiplication  of  apartment  houses,  commonly  called 
.flats,  upon  the  value  and  renting  capacity  of  single  dwellings,  is  also 
to  be  considered.  Sometimes  there  is  an  overbuilding  of  flats,  in  this 
year  or  that,  but  they  suit  a  good  many  town  dwellers,  and  a  flat  is 
so  costly  a  building  that  it  will  stay,  and  be  rented,  however  low  the 
rent  obtainable,  until  the  flight  of  years  shall  make  the  bare  ground 
more  valuable  than  is  the  ground  and  the  unprofitable  building  to¬ 
gether.  This  reference  to  flats  suggests  the  remark  that  in  a  city  or 
a  good-sized  town,  a  well-built  and  wisely  planned  three-storied  flat 
is  likely  to  prove  a  very  satisfactory  and  stable  investment.  It  is 
generally  better,  however,  to  build  such  a  flat  than  to  buy  one  already 
built.  A  desirable  small  apartment  house  cannot  often  be  bought  at 
a  bargain,  and  the  latest-built  flat  can  easily  be  made  the  best  of  its 
kind. 

It  is  not  a  bad  thing  to  buy  a  good-sized  villa  plot  in  the  suburbs 
of  a  town  or  city,  either  for  all  cash  or  on  the  installment  plan,  so 
long  as  the  buyer  does  not  pay  the  fancy  price  so  often  demanded 
for  ground  that  is  still  farming  land,  though  beautifully  laid  off  on 
paper  into  streets,  lots,  parks,  fountains,  lyceums,  and  factories.  If 
street  cars,  water  mains,  gas  or  electric  lights,  and  public  schools, 
already  make  the  suburb  a  comfortable  residential  place,  so  that 
the  buyer  can  go  and  live  on  the  plot  in  a  modest  frame  dwelling,  the 
investment,  if  properly  made  at  the  beginning,  is  likely  to  become  the 
event  of  a  lifetime.  In  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years,  the  villa  can 
be  pulled  down,  and  the  plot  be  cut  np  into  city  lots  and  sold  at  a 
fabulous  advance  on  the  original  value.  Nobody  having  a  compara¬ 
tively  moderate  sum  of  money  to  invest  need  hold  off  through  fear 
or  expectancy  of  a  sudden  or  general  upheaval  of  the  old  ways  of 
living. 

A  real  estate  purchase  is  usually  made  through  a  real  estate  agent. 
Unless  especially  employed  by  the  buyer,  at  the  expense  of  the  buyer — ■ 
which  rarely  happens — he  is  the  agent  of  the  seller,  interested  in 
getting  the  best  price  for  the  seller  and,  therefore,  the  largest  com¬ 
pensation  for  himself.  Whatever  his  moral  obligations  toward  the 
buyer,  his  legal  obligations  allow  a  wide  latitude  for  exercise  of  the 
imagination  in  his  alleged  statement  of  fact.  So  that,  however  useful 
he  may  be  in  bringing  property  to  the  knowledge  and  inspection  of 
an  investor,  in  bringing  buyer  and  seller  together  on  a  price  satis- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


l8i 


factory  to  both,  and  in  arranging  the  details  of  sale  and  settlement, 
all  that  he  says  about  the  value,  position,  and  prospects  of  the  prop¬ 
erty,  its  promising  future,  the  prices'  that  have  been  offered  for  it  in 
the  past,  the  peculiar  circumstances  that  enable  the  present  customer' 
to  get  it  at  an  astonishing  reduction  from  its  real  value,  and  the 
celerity  with  which  he  can  make  a  quick  resale  of  it  at  a  big  profit, 
should  pass  through  the  ears  of  the  customer  without  affecting  the 
mind.  If,  in  the  end,  the  purchaser  feels  compelled  to  rely  upon  some 
representation  of  the  agent  as  an  inducement  to  make  the  purchase, 
there  should  be  inserted  in  the  bill  of  sale  or  receipt,  issued  upon 
payment  of  the  deposit,  a  declaration  that  the  purchase  is  made  upon 
the  faith  of  that  representation,  and  that  the  agent  issuing  the  bill  of 
sale  warrants  the  representation  to  be  true.  Then,  if  the  representation 
be  untrue  or  erroneous,  and  the  purchaser  suffers  loss  thereby,  and  the 
agent  is  financially  good  for  the  amount  of  the  loss  and  costs  of  the 
lawsuit,  the  purchaser  ‘will  be  safe.  The  necessity  of  caution  and 
self-diligence  in  dealing  with  a  real  estate  agent  for  a  purchase,  is 
enhanced  by  the  frequency  with  which  the  actual  negotiation  with  the 
purchaser  is  conducted  by  a  permanent  or  casual  feeder  of  the  real 
estate  office,  with  whom  the  agent  divides  the  commission,  without 
being  responsible  for  any  of  the  acts  or  representations  not  brought 
to  his  knowledge  or  confirmed  by  him. 

Deeds  of  real  estate  are  usually  written  on  printed  forms,  and  it 
is  better  to  use  such  a  form  than  to  attempt  to  draw  a  deed  from 
knowledge  or  memory  of  what  should  be  put  into  it.  Yet,  even  with 
a  printed  form,  it  is  dangerous  for  other  than  an  expert  to  draw  a 
deed,  since  the  parts  to  be  written  into  the  form  are  the  more  diffi¬ 
cult  and  important.  Some  real  estate  agents,  notaries  public,  and 
justices  of  the  peace,  are  expert  in  drawing  deeds  and,  therefore,  may 
be  trusted  in  ordinary  cases;  but  where  anything  more  than  a  simple 
conveyance  from  one  person  to  another  is  to  be  made,  it  is  better 
that  a  lawyer  should  prepare  or  revise  the  deed. 

t 

The  deed  to  a  house  intended  as  the  family  home  should  prefer¬ 
ably  be  taken  in  the  name  of  the  wife,  so  that  the  safety  of  the 
home  may  be  assured  if  the  husband  should  afterward  become 
involved  by  bad  investments  or  speculations,  or  by  endorsing,  or 
going  security,  for  others.  This  advice  is  good,  even  in  those 
states  that  have  liberal  laws  exempting  the  homestead  from  liability 
for  debt.  If,  unhappily,  the  couple  should  afterward  become  divorced, 
the  divorce  court  would  decree  a  just  disposition  of  real  estate  stand¬ 
ing  in  the  name  of  the  wife,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
case.  In  private  litigations,  which  make  up  much  the  greater  mass 
of  legal  business,  the  courts  may  be  trusted  to  do  strict  justice  be- 


i82 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


tween  the  parties,  upon  the  evidence  produced ;  those  guilty  of  offend¬ 
ing,  receiving  their  proper  due,  with  no  burden  added  or  benefit  taken 
away  merely  because  of  their  offense.  One  of  the  consolations  of  being 
forced  into  a  lawsuit  is  the  assurance  of  having  it  presided  over  by 
a  judge  at  once  experienced  and  impartial.  It  is  worth  the  time  and 
trouble  of  spending  an  hour  or  two  at  the  trial  of  an  important  or  noted 
civil  case,  to  contrast  the  calm,  and  even  cold,  demeanor  of  the  judge, 
with  the  obviously  interested  behavior  of  the  principals  and  witnesses. 
He  often  has  his  private  opinion  of  the  case,  of  the  parties,  and  of 
the  witnesses;  but  he  keeps  it  to  himself,  shows  favor  or  disfavor  to 
neither  side,  and  though  he  may  have  to  deal  with  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  who  flatly  contradict  each  other,  he  accuses  neither  of  per¬ 
jury,  but  temperately  states  the  reason  why,  upon  the  whole,  one 
piece  of  evidence  should  be  accepted  and  another  rejected.  It  would 
be  half-way  to  the  millenium  could  the  judicial  habit  and  manner  be 
universally  adopted  by  the  community;  but  the  judge  began  as  a 
lawyer,  and  the  lawyer  began  by  learning  that  there  are  two  sides  to 
every  contention,  in  which  iieLther  side  is  likely  to  be  wholly  right 
or  wrong,  and  with  a  reasonable  chance  that  the  other  side  is  the 
right  side 

Though  an  inexperienced  person  should  not  presume  to  draw  a 
deed  of  real  estate,  any  intelligent  person  may  draw  such  a  bill 
of  purchase  or  sale  of  real  estate  as  will  bind  the  bargain  until  the 
time  comes  for  deeding  the  property.  Such  a  bill  should  state  who  is 
buying  and  who  is  selling ;  should  specify'  the  lot  or  tract  of  land  bought 
and  sold,  which  may  be  described  in  any  brief  or  familiar  language 
that  will  enable  it  to  be  fully  and  accurately  described  afterward; 
the  price  to  be  paid;  the  time  and  manner  of  payment;  how  the  de¬ 
ferred  part  of  the  payment  is  to  be  secured,  which  is  usually  by  a 
mortgage  upon  the  property  itself;  whether  the  whole  and  perpetual 
title  to  the  property  is  to  pass,  or  only  a  limited  or  partial  title; 
which  party  is  to  pay  the  costs  of  title  searching,  deeding,  and 
recording;  whether  the  seller  is  to  guarantee  a  good  title;  how  long 
a  time  is  allowed  the  purchaser  to  complete  the  purchase;  how 
much  has  been  paid  by  way  of  deposit,  and  how  much,  if  not  all, 
of  the  deposit  is  to  be  retained  by  the  seller  if  the  purchaser  alters 
his  mind  and  chooses  not  to  take  the  property.  If  an  existing  mort¬ 
gage  is  to  be  assumed  by  the  purchaser,  the  amount  of  it  and  its 
assumption  should  be  stated,  and  it  should  also  be  stated  up  to 
what  time  the  seller  is  to  pay  accrued  interest  on  an  assumed  mort¬ 
gage,  and  accrued  taxes.  Any  special  or  additional  arrangements 
concerning  the  purchase  or  sale  should  be  mentioned. 

If  a  purchaser  by  bill  of  sale  desires  to  record  the  bill,  to  protect 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


183 

his  interest  until  a  deed  can  be  recorded,  the  seller  should  acknowl¬ 
edge  it  as  he  would  acknowledge  a  deed;  otherwise  the  witnessed 
signature  of  the  seller  will  be  sufficient.  A  merely  signed,  or  signed 
and  witnessed,  bill  of  sale  may  be  recorded,  if  necessity  or  occasion 
should  arise,  by  attaching  to  the  bill  such  an  affidavit  of  the  pur¬ 
chaser  as  the  recording  officer  may  prescribe. 

Real  estate  may  be,  and  often  is,  rented  by  oral  agreement ;  but  a 
vvritten  agreement,  or  lease,  is  better  for  both  landlord  and  tenant. 
Forms  of  leases  are  kept  by  dealers  in  legal  blanks,  and  should  al¬ 
ways  be  used.  The  printed  parts  indicate  or  suggest  how  the  blank 
parts  should  be  filled.  When  filled,  they  should  express  the  agree¬ 
ment  fully  and  clearly,  and  additions  to  the  statements  provided  for 
by  the  printed  form  may  be  made,  if  it  is  necessary  to  include  in  the 
document  the  whole  agreement.  A  lease  for  more  than  two  years 
should  be  recorded  among  the  land  records,  to  which  end  the  land¬ 
lord  should  acknowledge  it  in  the  same  manner  as  he  would  acknowl¬ 
edge  a  deed.  A  lease  should  always  be  in  duplicate,  so  that  each 
party  may  have  an  original  lease. 

A  lease  is  sometimes  accompanied  by  a  privilege  to  the  purchaser 
to  buy  the  property  at  an  agreed  price,  at  any  time  while  the  lease 
is  in  operation.  Such  a  privilege  should  be  included  in  the  lease,  or 
in  a  separately  written  agreement  referring  to  the  lease.  If  the 
privilege  is  a  valuable  one,  the  paper  containing  it  should  be  recorded. 

A  great  deal  of  business  concerning  real  estate  and  personal  prop¬ 
erty  is  performed  by  means  of  powers  of  attorney.  Blanks  for  power 
of  attorney  are  sold  by  law  stationers,  and  should  always  be  used,  the 
maker  of  a  power  first  canceling  any  of  the  printed  matter  that  goes 
further  than  his  intention,  or  that  does  not  fit  the  case.  Ordinarily, 
a  power  of  attorney  is  revoked  by  the  death  of  the  maker  or  the 
subject  of  it,  but  powers  of  attorney  are  often  used  for  matters,  and 
under  circumstances,  wherein  it  would  be  inconvenient  or  uujust  to 
have  the  death  of  either  party  terminate  the  power.  Some  of  the 
blank  forms  contain  provisions  for  making  the  power  irrevocable  by 
death,  but  if  such  a  form  is  not  obtainable,  it  can  be  done  by 
canceling  such  of  the  printed  words  in  an  ordinary  form  as  are  un¬ 
suitable,  and  then  by  adding  written  words  expressing  just  what 
is  desired.  A  power  of  attorney  to  sell  and  convey  land  should  be 
acknowledged  and  recorded. 

One  objection  to  real  estate  investments  has  been  the  apprehen¬ 
sion  that  something  unexpected  might  turn  up  to  impair  the  title, 
thus  causing  delay,  trouble,  and  expense,  when  a  sale  or  mortgage  is 
pending.  This  rarely  happens  with  agricultural  land,  or  town  prop¬ 
erty  that  has  been  long  held  in  one  family.  But  it  does  happen  often 


184 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


with  city  real  estate  of  the  active  kind,  which  has  been  repeatedly 
transferred  or  mortgaged.  The  danger  is  now  removed  by  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  title  guarantee  companies,  which,  for  a  reasonable  fee,  will  ex¬ 
amine  a  title  and  prepare  the  deeds,  and  for  a  further  reasonable  fee, 
will  guarantee  the  title  to  be  good  against  all  comers.  Such  a  guar¬ 
antee  from  a  well-known  title  company  almost  universally  does  away 
with  any  doubt  or  question,  and  has  given  an  augmented  value  to 
real  estate  as  an  investment.  Experienced  persons  lending  money  on 
mortgages  now  often  insist  upon  a  guarantee  certificate  of  title,  and 
no  important  purchase  should  be  made  without  one,  or  a  certificate 
from  a  title  company  that  the  title  is  already  good.  Such  a  certificate 
will  satisfy  any  reasonable  buyer,  and  once  issued,  will  serve  indefi¬ 
nitely  thereafter,  the  only  subsequent  expense  being  for  continuations 
to  bring  the  title  down  to  date. 

Real  estate  investments  have  the  general  modern  tendency  to  be¬ 
come  specialized.  Some  people  habitually  invest  in  business  property; 
others  in  resident  property;  others  in  vacant  lots;  some  in  suburban 
investments ;  and  others  in  ground  that  can  be  rented  for  market 
garden  plots  until  the  town  comes  near  enough  to  turn  them  into  villa 
sites  or  suburban  homes.  Suburban  investments  are  likely  to  pay  a 
high  profit  when  made  as  the  result  of  experience  and  caution ;  yet,  such 
is  the  general  tendency  of  land  to  grow  in  value,  that  even  an  ex¬ 
travagant  purchase  may  become  a  profitable  one  in  twenty  years; 
which,  however,  is  a  long  time  to  wait.  No  other  kind  of  real  estate 
has  so  much  of  a  future  as  that  lying  on  the  borders  of  a  growing 
town  or  city.  The  late  John  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  appreciated  this  fact 
many  years  ago  in  respect  to  the  city  of  Washington,  and  though  all 
his  life  one  of  the  busiest  of  public  men,  he  made  a  large  fortune  by 
bold,  yet  always  sagacious,  investments  in  outlying  farms,  which  he 
bought  by  the  acre,  at  farming  land  prices,  and  sold  by  the  square 
foot,  at  city  prices.  Taxes  on  such  lands  are  light,  whereas  vacant 
ground,  already  in  the  town  limits,  may  eat  itself  up  in  taxes  and  interest 
while  waiting  for  a  rise  in  price.  The  particular  class  of  real  estate 
with  which  one  deals  is  less  important  than  the  dealing  with  one  class, 
so  that  the  investor  may  become  familiar  with  the  ins  and  outs  of 
that  class  of  property  and  be  in  the  best  position  always  to  buy  or 
to  sell.  There  is  no  such  thing  on  earth  as  an  absolutely  safe  invest¬ 
ment,  but  among  the  nearest  approaches  to  one  are  government  bonds, 
which  pay  a  discouragingly  low  rate  of  interest,  and  real  estate,  which 
habitually  pays  fairly  well  and  often  far  beyond  moderation. 

Instead  of  paying  all  cash  for  one  piece  of  real  estate,  it  is  often 
better  to  buy  two  or  more  pieces,  letting  as  much  as  two-thirds  of 
the  purchase  money  remain  on  mortgage.  But  unless  there  is  likely 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


185 

to  be  a  comparatively  quick  resale  of  some  of  the  property,  the  pieces 
bought  should  be  improved  property,  bringing  in  enough  to  fairly 
pay  their  way.  In  that  case,  the  now  low  rate  of  interest  on  first 
mortgages,  together  with  the  constant,  even  when  slow,  tendency  of 
real  estate  to  grow  in  value,  will  work  together  to  make  a  profit  for 
the  investor. 

Real  estate  speculation  is  as  safe  and  as  unsafe  as  speculation  in 
general.  The  fact  that  the  land  is  solid  and  fixed,  while  other  sub¬ 
jects  of  speculation  may  vanish  altogether,  is  of  more  interest  to  the 
creditors  of  a  speculator  than  to  himself.  For  speculation  is  not  in¬ 
vestment,  but  a  species  of  gaming,  in  which  the  speculator,  relying  on 
his  own  judgment,  relies  also,  upon  having  luck  on  his  side  while  the 
speculation  lavSts.  If  luck  fails  him,  his  good  judgment  cannot  save 
him.  On  the  other  hand  exceptionally  good  luck  may  save  him,  even 
if  his  judgment  was  bad.  A  good  investment  is  either  made  out  of 
surplus  means,  or  within  the  means  of  the  investor,  closely  calculated. 
Such  a  purchase  can  endure  a  run  or  two  of  bad  fortune  without 
collapsing.  But  speculation,  pursued  as  business,  is  based  upon  an 
inflation  of  actual  means,  and  is  subject  to  the  universal  law  that  one 
must  take  large  risks  to  make  large  gains.  In  short,  speculation  is 
one  of  the  business  arts,  and  those  who  master  the  art  are  the  win¬ 
ners.  No  habitual  speculator  wins  always;  indeed,  the  anticipation  of 
losses  and  the  provision  for  them  in  the  general  scheme  are  parts  of 
the  art.  Occasional  speculation,  however,  can  be  ventured  upon  by 
amateurs,  so  long  as  they  do  not  go  so  deeply  in  any  case  as  to  risk 
permanent  injury;  and  for  speculation  of  that  mild  sort  real  estate  is 
a  good  subject. 

A  few  words  more  may  be  said  about  mortgages  —  this  time  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  borrower.  To  pay  four  or  five  per  cent,  a  year 
for  money  obtained  or  retained  on  mortgage,  in  order  to  employ  that 
money  in  purposes  that  reasonably  promise  a  gain  or  saving  of  from 
seven  to  ten  per  cent.,  is  to  make  what  may  be  termed  a  productive 
mortgage.  Of  this  sort  are  many  of  the  mortgages  on  store  property, 
dwellings,  and  farms,  and  the  borrowers,  who  are  profiting  as  well  as 
the  lenders,  need  no  commiseration.  The  fact  that  mortgages  flourish 
most  in  prosperous  times  is  a  proof  that  they  are  among  the  means 
of  bringing  about  that  distribution  of  capital  which  is  essential  to  a 
sound  and  active  condition  of  industry.  In  bad  times,  a  borrower 
dislikes  to  mortgage,  through  fear  of  losing  his  property,  and  a  lender 
because  he  fears  that  he  may  not  get  his  interest,  which  he  does 
want,  and  may  have  to  become  the  unwilling  owner  of  real  estate. 

An  owner  of  improved  real  estate,  like  the  holder  of  a  mortgage 
upon  that  kind  of  proper.ty,  should,  of  course,  keep  the  buildings 


i86 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


well  insured.  Fire  insurance  on  brick  dwellings  is  comparatively  so 
cheap  that  unless  there  be  a  good  many  houses  to  insure,  the  cost 
does  not  call  for  much  study  of  economy.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  to 
be  remembered  that  brick  dwellings  are  rarely  totally  destroyed  by 
fire,  so  that  an  insurance  to  three-quarters  of  the  value  may  be 

ordinarily  regarded  as  safe;  and  the  saving  of  cost,  if  there  be  four 
or  five,  or  more,  houses  to  insure  will  be  an  appreciable  item.  The 
insurance  premium  on  any  kind  of  building  used  for  business  pur¬ 
poses  is  heavier  than  in  the  case  of  a  dwelling,  and  so  is  the  chance 
of  damage.  The  most  frequent  and  most  destructive  fires  are  in 
those  buildings  where  the  business  carried  on  is  so  hazardous  that 
the  cost  of  the  insurance  is  almost,  and  sometimes  quite,  prohibitory. 
Speaking  generally,  the  rule  of  wisdom  is  to  keep  the  property 

insured  to  at  least  half  its  value.  Out  of  forty  planing  mills,  sepa¬ 
rately  located,  not  more  than  two  in  a  year  are  likely  to  catch  fire, 
so  that  the  owner  of  a  building  so  used  has  nineteen  chances  to  one 
of  escaping  loss.  For  the  forty  buildings,  therefore,  half  insurance 
is  a  good  average  measure  of  safety. 

Fire  insurance  is  effected  by  a  written  contract  called  a  policy. 
This  policy,  with  its  many  provisions,  is  really  a  most  interesting 
historical  document,  for  its  language  has  been  chosen,  and  put 

together,  as  the  result  of  centuries  of  experience  and  centuries  of  liti¬ 
gation.  It  is  also  an  interesting  legal  document,  since  in  case  of  fire 
loss,  and  dispute,  its  provisions  bind  both  the  company  and  the 

loser  and  it  is  too  late  for  the  loser  to  make  that  addition  to,  or 
alternation  in,  the  contract  that  could  have  been  made  beforehand, 
and  probably  would  have  been  made  if  the  printed  parts  of  the  policy 
had  been  carefully  read.  For  the  written  parts  of  the  policy  are 
flexible,  and  so  long  as  the  rule  of  paying  according  to  what  one 
gets  is  complied  with,  a  policy  holder  can  have  anything  reasonable 
and  consistent  inserted  in  the  policy. 

In  the  renting  of  a  building  for  business  purposes,  the  owner  must 
be  careful  that  the  tenants  are  not  privileged  by  their  leases,  or 
other  forms  of  consent,  to  do  things  that  would  annul  the  policy  on 
the  building.  The  policy  always  describes  the  character  of  the  build¬ 
ing  and  the  uses  to  which  the  building  is  put;  and  if  things  are  to 
be  kept,  or  done,  in  it  that  go  beyond  the  ordinary  risks  of  such  a 
building  so  used,  the  policy  should  contain  statements  covering 
the  extra  risks.  This  remark  applies  to  a  dwelling  in  which 
gasoline  is  to  be  used  for  fuel.  So  long,  however,  as  the  owner  acts 
in  good  faith,  and  with  reasonable  care,  the  policy  on  the  building  is 
not  affected  by  the  bad  faith  or  negligence  of  a  tenant.  The  law 
demands  reasonableness,  but  it  requires  nothing  more. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


187 


In  some  places  there  are  fire  insurance  companies  operated  on  the 
mutual  plan,  so  that  the  insured  are  also  the  insurers;  where  such  a 
company  is  old,  and  in  good  repute,  it  offers  a  cheap  yet  safe  kind  of 
insurance. 

Storm  losses  on  modern  buildings  are  greater  than  in  former  days 
on  the  lower,  smaller,  and  plainer,  yet  structurally  strong,  buildings 
then  in  vogue.  Cyclone  insurance,  as  it  is  popularly  called,  is  becom¬ 
ing  familiar  in  the  cyclone  or  tornado  districts,  but  elsewhere,  severe 
storms  occur  every  few  years,  and  insurance  against  damage  by  wind, 
lightning,  hail,  and  torrential  rains,  is  very  cheap.  Plate  glass  insur¬ 
ance  for  costly  store  windows  is  already  so  common  as  to  require 
nothing  more  than  this  passing  mention. 

According  to  their  own  casual  talk,  landlords  and  tenants  are  the 
unhappiest  and  most  unfortunate  of  mankind.  Everybody  knows 
what  they  say  of  one  another,  and  how  each  thinks  what  a  model 
landlord  or  tenant  he  would  make,  if  the  positions  were  reversed. 
Upon  an  average,  each  tells  about  half  the  truth  concerning  the  other, 
and  if  they  should  ever  get  together  in  a  kindly  way,  each  could 
teach  the  other  something  worth  knowing.  Taking  them  in  the  mass, 
landlords  as  a  class,  and  tenants  as  a  class,  the  latter  have  rather  a 
better  position  under  modern  law  and  present-day  conditions.  But  a 
man  who  would  live  contentedly  in  a  hovel  that  he  owned  himself 
could  not  be  content  in  a  rented  mansion.  Yet,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  there  must  be  landlords,  and  the  owning  of  rented  premises 
must,  on  the  whole,  be  profitable;  otherwise  the  overworked  and  inef¬ 
ficient  government  would  have  to  face  a  crop  of  new  blunders  in 
trying  to  provide  homes  for  the  people.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
are  many  landlords  who  find  a  satisfying  profit  in  renting  out  dwell¬ 
ings,  stores,  factories,  and  farms.  If,  theoretically,  it  is  always 
unprofitable  to  be  a  landlord  —  and  practically  it  is  often  profitable  — 
there  must  be  an  art  of  being  a  landlord.  That  there  is  such  an  art, 
let  the  following  story,  especially  obtained  for  this  work,  attest. 

I  own,  in  my  own  right,  or  as  trustee  for  others,  about  seventy- 
five  houses.  The  majority  of  them  are  dwellings,  but  there  is  quite 
an  assortment  of  stores,  stables,  blacksmith,  and  carpenter  shops, 
greenhouses,  and  a  few  small  factories  or  shops  of  a  miscellaneous 
kind.  Some  are  rented  by  the  year,  but  most  by  the  month. 

Whenever  I  rent  a  place,  I  have  a  written  lease.  I  use  the 
form  drawn  up  by  the  bar  association  of  this  country,  but  because  of 
my  long  experience,  I  have  added  a  provision  that  tenants  shall  pay 
for  damage  done  by  careless  use  of  the  plumbing  fixtures.  I  have 
never  demanded  nor  received,  nor  ever  expect  to  receive,  a  dollar 
from  a  tenant  for  plumbing  repairs,  but  as  the  condition  is  in  the 


i88 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


middle  of  my  own  printed  lease,  in  heavy  black  type,  I  have  seventy- 
five  people  looking  after  my  plumbing,  and  that  is  the  next  best 
thing  to  being  a  plumber  myself. 

My  calculation  is  that  if  a  house  is  worth  twenty  dollars  a  month, 
I  can  get  ten  months’  rent  in  a  year,  taking  one  year  with  another, 
and  allowing  for  bad  tenants  and  for  months  when  the  house  is 
vacant.  That  is  two  hundred  dollars  a  year;  but  this  sum  divided  by 
twelve  months,  instead  of  ten  months,  is  $16.66  a  month.  So  I  put 
the  rent  at  eighteen  dollars  a  month,  which,  being  a  cheap  rent, 
enables  me  to  select  and  to  keep  good  tenants.  In  that  way,  I  find  I 
get  quite  eleven  months’  rent  in  every  year,  which  is  only  two  dollars 
less  than  ten  months’  rent  at  twenty  dollars  a  month.  But  my  saving 
of  loss  and  damage,  through  having  good  tenants  who  seldom  move 
out,  is  quite  worth  twenty  dollars  a  year;  so  I  get  more  than  if  I 
held  the  rent  at  twenty  dollars. 

Whenever  one  of  my  houses  is  vacant,  I  go  over  it  carefully  and 
jot  down  what  I  should  want  done  to  it  if  I  were  going  to  occupy  it 
myself.  These  things  I  have  done.  Very  often,  a  tenant  is  willing 
to  take  the  place  without  these  repairs,  or  with  only  a  part  of  them. 
That  does  not  make  any  difference,  the  repairs  are  made  all  the  same. 
I  want  him  to  have  so  good  a  house  for  his  money  that  he  cannot 
afford  to  leave  it,  or  to  be  ejected  for  non-payment  of  rent.  I  never 
have  to  spend  money  in  advertising  a  house  for  rent,  because  I  have 
a  long  list  of  people  who  want  to  rent  from  me,  and  I  am  able  to 
choose  my  tenants.  What  I  save  in  advertising,  I  put  on  the  prop¬ 
erty. 

Although  I  have  the  best  lot  of  tenants  in  the  city,  they  will 
come  to  me  with  excited  complaints  of  things  out  of  order.  I  go  at 
once  and  examine  the  plaee.  If  anything  is  out  of  order,  I  have  it 
made  right  at  once.  If  they  are  complaining  without  cause,  I  invite 
them  to  vacate  the  house,  and  that  brings  them  to  order.  The  kind 
of  tenants  I  have,  spend  considerable  money,  in  the  aggregate,  to  have 
things  to  suit  themselves,  and  what  they  spend  to  please  themselves 
is  usually  a  benefit  to  the  property. 

Many  of  my  houses  are  old-timers,  and  originally  lacked  what  are 
now  regarded  as  modern  improvements.  But  they  now  have  all  the 
modern  improvements  that  can  be  put  into  them,  short  of  tearing 
them  down  to  the  ground.  There  are  electric  push  buttons  instead 
of  door  bells,  electric  gas  lighters  instead  of  matches,  gas  heaters  in 
the  bath-rooms,  wood  mantles  with  mirrors,  and  nearly  all  the  latest 
notions.  Some  years  ago  I  took  the  fancy  of  putting  a  small  sized 
gas  stove  in  each  of  the  kitchens  of  my  dwelling  houses.  Very  few 
wanted  them,  and  some  of  the  tenants  intimated  that  I  owned  stock 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


189 


in  the  gas  company.  Now,  seven-eighths  of  the  breakfasts  are  cooked 
on  the  gas  stoves,  and  the  quick-breakfast  gas  stove  will  rent  a  house 
when  all  other  attractions  fail. 

I  hear  a  good  deal  of  outside  talk  about  rents  being  so  low  as 
to  leave  no  profits  for  the  landlords.  I  make  a  clear  six  per  cent,  on 
the  houses  I  rent,  and  if  I  sold  them  all  for  cash,  I  should  not  know 
where  else  to  put  the  money  to  bring  in  six  per  cent.  Besides  that, 
I  have  the  profit  of  the  increasing  value  of  the  ground,  which  costs 
me  nothing  except  an  occasional  trifling  addition  to  the  taxes.  Add¬ 
ing  that  to  the  income  from  rentals,  I  am  getting  at  least  eight  per 
cent,  on  the  investments.^^ 

This  story  of  some  seventy-five  rented  houses  might  as  easily  be 
the  story  of  a  single  rented  house,  and  shows  that  the  secret  of  suc¬ 
cessful  investment  in  improved  real  estate  lies  in  a  just  balancing  of 
the  separate,  but  not  hostile,  interests  of  landlord  and  tenant.  The 
experience  is  common  enough  among  the  great  landholders  and  the 
tenant  farmers  of  both  England  and  Wales,  but  that  would  be  too 
far-fetched  an  example  for  this  country,  where  such  interlocked  classes 
are  almost  unknown. 

It  is  easier  to  make  a  good  investment  by  way  of  a  secured  loan 
than  to  buy  the  property  outright.  The  amount  of  a  loan  rarely  does 
and  never  should  exceed  seven-tenths  of  the  carefully  ascertained 
value  of  the  property,  whereas,  even  a  bargain  purchase  seldom  falls 
much  below  the  true  general  market  value  of  the  property.  In  the 
case  of  a  loan,  there  is  a  broad  margin  to  absorb  such  unforeseen 
contingencies  as  a  defective,  or  incomplete,  title ;  costs  of  litigation, 
or  other  extraordinary  expenses ;  a  decline  in  the  value  of  a  particular 
property,  or  of  property  in  that  neighborhood,  or  of  that  kind  of 
property  in  general;  or  any  other  casualty  lessening  or  tending  to 
lessen  the  value  of  the  security.  In  the  case  of  a  purchase  invest¬ 
ment,  if  anything  of  an  unfavorable  nature  develops,  there  is  always 
the  fear  of  an  actual  loss,  and  very  often  the  empty  joy  in  the  end 
of  getting  out  of  the  investment  without  profit.  So  that  anybody  sat¬ 
isfied  with  moderate  gains,  if  well  assured  of  them,  may  wisely  look 
to  mortgages  as  a  good  kind  of  investment,  safe,  and  comparatively 
easy  to  make. 

City  real  estate  is  harder  to  value  for  a  purchase  than  for  a  mort¬ 
gage.  Among  real  estate  men,  a  difference  of  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent, 
in  the  valuations  of  expert  appraisers  excites  no  surprise.  Real  es¬ 
tate  logicians  say  that  the  true  value  of  a  piece  of  realty  is  what  it 
will  bring  when  put  to  public  auction,  after  being  fairly  advertised. 
Private  sales  are  but  loose  evidence  of  value.  A  seller  may  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  forego  what  he  regards  as  a  fair  price,  in  favor  of  a  quick 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


190 

sale  at  almost  any  price.  The  price  that  a  buyer  considers  low,  may 
be  twenty  per  cent,  higher  than  the  best  offer  that  can  afterward  be 
obtained  for  it.  A  real  estate  agent,  charged  with  a  private  sale,  may 
impress  his  valuation  upon  the  purchaser,  while  the  latter  or  his 
agent  may  never  be  able  to  raise  anybody  else  to  an  equal  figure. 
At  present,  the  tendency  of  real  estate  values  is  toward  steadiness, 
except  in  what  are  called  boom  towns, —  while  the  boom  is  working. 
With  steadiness,  instead  of  rapid  increase,  as  the  tendency,  expert 
valuers  now  give  the  first  place  to  a  calculation  of  rent  earning 
capacity,  instead  of,  as  formerly,  to  a  calculation  of  the  yearly  rise, 
and  of  the  time  intervening  before  the  next  period  of  general  de¬ 
pression.  Upon  ground  already  improved,  rental  capacity  is  figured 
upon  the  improvements  as  they  stand.  If,  without  extensive  rebuild¬ 
ing,  the  improvements  are  obviously  capable  of  being  themselves  im¬ 
proved,  and  the  character  of  the  property  and  the  locality  justify  it, 
the  cost  of  the  further  improvement  is  calculated,  and  then  the  rental 
value  in  the  new  state.  If  the  ground  be  vacant,  the  cost  of  suitably 
improving  it,  according  to  its  own  character  and  its  surroundings,  is 
approximately  estimated,  and  then  the  rental  value;  and  from  these 
figures  is  calculated  the  value  of  the  vacant  ground,  reduced  to  so 
much  by  the  front  foot  or  square  foot.  Farming  lands  are  more 
easily  valued,  as  their  ups  and  downs  are  much  slower.  In  such  a 
case,  the  valuer  inquires  into  the  local  average  rate  of  rise  or  fall  during 
the  last  ten  to  fifteen  years,  takes  into  account  the  agricultural  prospects 
of  the  neighborhood  for  about  the  same  time  ahead,  and  then  makes 
allowances,  upward  or  downward,  for  the  particular  features  and 
circumstances  of  the  farm  under  valuation,  including  fences  and 
buildings. 

To  buy  a  home,  or  the  site  of  a  home,  in  town  or  country,  is  not, 
strictly  speaking,  an  investment,  and  to  pay  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent, 
more  than  a  mere  investor  would  pay,  for  a  place  that ,  suits,  is  not  to 
be  regarded  as  an  ultimate  misfortune.  A  real  estate  agent  who 
knows  that  a  prospective  customer  is  looking  for  a  home,  talks  much 
more  about  the  attractions  of  the  place  he  is  showing  than  of  their 
intrinsic  values,  knowing  that  when  the  right  place  is  found,  any 
price  within  reasonable  bounds  will  be  cheap  to  the  homeseeker. 
Human  nature  works  the  same  in  this  case  as-  when  a  woman  shop¬ 
per  buys  a  dress  pattern  or  a  bonnet  that  she  particularly  likes.  It 
is  invariably  a  bargain,  and  its  being  a  bargain  is  half  the  pleasure. 

Receipt.  —  A  written  acknowledgment  of  payment. 

Receiver. —  An  officer  appointed  by  a  court  to  hold  in  trust  prop¬ 
erty  in  litigation,  or  to  wind  up  the  affairs  of  a  bankrupt  concern. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


191 

Refunding. —  The  substitution  of  low  interest-bearing  bonds  for 
those  paying  a  higher  rate. 

Remittance. —  Transfer  of  funds  from  one  party  to  another. 

Renewal. —  Giving  a  new  note  for  an  old  one. 

Returns. —  Profit  on  an  investment. 

Reversion. —  Right  to  possess  property  after  the  happening  of 
some  event,  as  the  death  of  a  person. 

Salvage. —  Compensation  given  those  who  rescue  ship  or  cargo 
from  loss. 

Scrip. —  Certificate  of  stock  given  before  registration. 

Securities. —  Documents  securing  a  right  to  property. 


SECURITIES,  DEALING  IN 


Functions  of  the  Stock  Market  —  How  Capital  Is  Put  to  the  Most  Produc¬ 
tive  Use  —  Warning  against  <<  Bucket-Shops  and  Foolish  Speculation  — 
Sound  Investments  in  Securities — How  Rothschilds  Deceived  the  London 
•*  Market  —  Danger  of  Plausible  Schemes  Presented  to  Women — Small  In¬ 
vestment  Returns  the  Safest  —  Government  Bond  Issues  —  Difference  be¬ 
tween  Stocks  and  Bonds  —  The  Principle  of  Limited  Liability — Market 
Price  and  Par  Value. 

SOME  knowledge  of  the  character  and  operations  of  the  stock  market 
is  desirable  for  all  engaged  in  practical  business,  and  especially 
for  women  who  have  independent  resources,  or  whose  affairs  are 
in  the  hands  of  trustees  or  attorneys.  Speculation  on  margins  in  the 
stock  market  is  unwise,  and  is  almost  certain  to  result  in  loss  rather 
than  profit,  except  to  those  whose  business  brings  them  legitimately 
into  the  market.  The  stock  market  and  the  produce  exchanges  have 
definite  uses,  however,  in  the  structure  of  modern  industry.  The  crit¬ 
icisms  against  them,  so  often  heard,  are  due  to  ignorance  of  their 
beneficial  functions,  and  to  the  abuse  of  these  functions  which  has 
been  practised.  The  stock  market  and  the  produce  exchanges,  in  their 
legitimate  sphere,  are  only  the  final  expression  of  that  thorough  or¬ 
ganization  which  extends  through  modern  industry. 

The  stock  market  is  the  place  where  the  value  of  securities  is  de¬ 
termined.  This  value  finds  expression  in  changes  of  quotations. 
While  these  quotations  are  sometimes  affected  by  false  rumors  and 
influenced  by  manipulation,  they  usually  find  their  true  level  in  the 


192 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


long  run,  according  to  the  real  value  of  the  security.  If,  for  instance, 
the  Pennsylvania  Railway  is  well  managed,  and  is  earning  large  divi¬ 
dends,  its  stock  and  bonds  will  be  quoted  high.  Enemies  of  the  road 
may  cireulate  false  rumors  which  may  carry  the  quotations  off  a  few 
points,  or  a  group  of  speculators  may  undertake  to  depress  the  market 
by  selling  a  block  of  the  stock  at  a  low  price,  in  the  hope  of  buying 
back  a  larger  amount  while  quotations  are  feeling  the  effect  of  their 
operations.  But  if  the  stock  has  real  value,  these  devises  will  accom¬ 
plish  little  against  it.  The  speculators  who  make  sales  at  low  prices 
may  be  forced  to  make  actual  deliveries  to  those  to  whom  they  have 
sold,  and  to  pay  high  prices  in  order  to  get  the  stock.  The  market 
will  then  go  up  again  and  the  real  solidity  of  the  investment  will  be 
shown.  In  the  long  run,  therefore,  the  stock  market  is  the  sensitive 
and  accurate  register  of  the  value  of  any  enterprise  or  investment. 

It  is  the  operations  of  the  stock  market  that  determine  the  direc¬ 
tion  in  which  capital  shall  be-  invested  with  the  greatest  benefit  to 
the  community.  If  an  enterprise  is  not  paying  well,  people  will  stop 
buying  its  securities.  They  will  not  buy  new  securities  put  on  the 
market  for  similar  enterprises.  This  is  where  the  stock  market  ren¬ 
ders  its  highest  service  to  the  community.  If  there  were  no  stock 
market,  with  its  sensitive  register  of  the  real  value  of  investments, 
shrewd  and  unscrupulous  speculators  might  continue  to  create  worth¬ 
less  enterprises,  and  to  dispose  of  their  securities  at  their  own  prices, 
thereby  swallowing  up  the  savings  of  the  poor  as  well  as  those  of  the 
rich.  It  would  be  not  only  the  individual  who  would  suffer  in  such 
a  case,  but  the  entire  community,  because  the  stock  market  would 
cease  to  drive  capital  toward  profitable  enterprises.  Under  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  public  quotations  on  the  stock  market,  if  cotton  mills  are  pay¬ 
ing  well,  their  stock  sells  high.  It  becomes  possible  to  sell  stock  in 
new  cotton  mills.  Capital  can  therefore  be  found  for  new  mills  as 
long  as  they  continue  to  be  needed.  When  they  become  too  plentiful, 
the  rate  of  profit  in  such  mills  falls  to  the  rate  of  profit  in  other  en¬ 
terprises.  Then  the  stocks  are  no  more  attractive  than  are  other 
stocks,  and  they  cease  to  draw  the  savings  of  the  community  into 
such  investments. 

The  result  of  these  operations  is  that  the  stock  market  affords  a 
constant  medium  for  drawing  the  savings  of  the  community  into  those 
enterprises  which  are  most  useful.  The  market  operates  with  an  intelli¬ 
gence  that,  although  automatic,  is  more  accurate  and  delicate  in  employ¬ 
ing  saved  capital,  where  it  accomplishes  the  most  of  all,  than  is  any 
single  human  intelligence.  The  proof  that  it  does  the  most  is  the  fact 
that  it  earns  the  largest  returns.  Men  pay  the  highest  price  for  the 
thing  they  need  the  most,  and  they  pay  the  highest  price  for  money 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


193 

when  it  yields  the  largest  net  income.  The  stock  market,  therefore, 
is  the  center  in  which  are  determined  the  equations  of  value.  With¬ 
out  it,  organized  industry  would  be  seriously  crippled,  if  not  para¬ 
lyzed.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  produce  exchanges.  Sales  of 
products  for  future  delivery  on  these  exchanges  are  only  the  expression 
of  the  judgment  of  experts  as  to  future  conditions  of  supply  and 
demand.  It  has  been  contended  by  critics  of  the  exchanges  that  the 
offer  of  a  man  to  sell  what  he  has  not  at  his  command  has  a  similar 
effect  upon  the  price  as  an  actual  increase  in  the  quantity  of  the 
goods.  A  little  examination,  however,  will  show  that  this  could  net 
be  the  permanent  effect.  If  he  sold  below  the  real  value  of  the 
goods,  as  determined  by  supply  and  demand;  and  by  intelligent  esti¬ 
mates  of  future  supply  and  demand,  he  would  be  forced  to  deliver 
the  goods  which  he  had  sold,  and  would  be  subjected  to  severe  loss 
in  finding  them  at  the  high  prices  which  they  really  commanded. 
The  grocer  who  takes  an  order  for  a  barrel  of  flour  when  it  is  not 
in  his  store,  cannot  prudently  sell  below  the  real  value  of  flour.  If 
he  does  so,  he  will  attract  a  great  many  orders,  but  he  will  have  to 
find  the  flour  and  to  pay  its  real  cost  of  production.  The  anticipation 
of  future  conditions,  and  of  sales  for  delivery  under  those  conditions, 
tends  to  steady  prices  and  to  prevent  violent  ups  and  downs. 

These  are  the  fundamental  principles  that  justify  the  operations  of 
the  stock  and  produce  exchanges.  They  are  subject  to  abuses,  among 
the  greatest  of  which  is  the  appearance  of  gamblers,  who  do  not 
judge  intelligently  of  the  conditions  of  the  market,  have  not  the  means 
of  judging,  and  do  not  seek  to  obtain  them.  Business  on  the  stock 
and  produce  exchanges,  however,  even  when  conducted  imprudently, 
differs  radically  from  dealing  with  the  bucket-shops,^^  which  infest 
American  cities  and  towns.  These  institutions  are  usually  run  by 
persons  of  limited  responsibility,  leading  a  nomadic  life,  and  are  only 
gambling  rooms.  A  broker  is  an  agent,  whose  interests  are  not  hos¬ 
tile  to  those  of  his  client.  He  buys  and  sells  securities,  with  the  in¬ 
tention  of  delivering  them  if  called  upon  to  do  so.  It  does  not  change 
the  nature  of  the  transaction  that  a  buying  order  may  offset  a  selling 
order,  and  reduce  the  amount  of  stock  actually  delivered.  A  bucket- 
shop,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  deal  in  securities.  It  deals  only  in 
wagers  on  the  probable  fluctuations  in  their  prices.  These  wagers 
cannot  affect  prices  as  legitimate  offers  to  buy  and  to  sell  affect  them, 
because  they  do  not  involve  a  real  offer  to  buy.  The  bucket-shop 
keeper,  moreover,  profits  by  the  losses  of  his  patrons.  If  they  bet 
that  a  stock  will  go  up  and  it  goes  down,  he  pockets  the  margin.  As 
the  public  usually  takes  an  optimistic  view,  and  buys  in  expectation 
of  a  rise  of  prices,  the  bucket-shop  keeper  profits  by  their  fall.  A 
Vol.  XIII— 13 


194 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


long-continued  upward  movement  usually  drives  the  bucket-shops  to 
suspend,  and  those  who  patronize  them  lose  the  benefit  of  their  oc¬ 
casional  correct  guesses.  Such  transactions  do  not  possess  even  the 
character  of  unwise  speeulation,  but  involve  the  hopeless  folly  of  other 
gaming,  betting  against  the  bank.^^  No  man  or  woman  should  have 
any  dealings  with  bucket-shops,  no  matter  what  alluring  stories  of 
success  may  be  told  by  their  acquaintance. 

Stock  exchange  securities  are  legitimate  investments,  and  the 
person  with  money  saved  may  often  profitably  engage  in  their  pur¬ 
chase  and  sale.  The  best  course  to  pursue,  however,  is  to  buy  them 
for  full  value,  and  to  retain  them  until  there  is  special  reason  for 
making  a  sale.  If  bought  for  full  value,  they  can  be  held  by  the 
owner  in  spite  of  temporary  fluctuations,  and,  finally,  can  be  sold  at  a 
profit,  if  the  priee  rises  much  above  the  priee  that  he  paid.  In  making 
such  a  sale,  however,  with  the  expectation  of  profit,  it  would  be'  neces¬ 
sary  to  consider  whether  a  better  investment  could  be  made  with  the 
money  obtained.  If  business  was  active  and  all  stocks  had  risen,  the 
apparent  profit  of  selling  what  he  had  might  be  offset  for  the  investor 
by  the  high  prices  he  would  have  to  pay  for  a  new  investment  equally 
good.  In  any  case,  the  owner  of  a  security  need  not  be  disturbed  by 
temporary  fluetuations,  caused  by  politieal  rumors  or  by  changes  in 
general  business  conditions,  so  long  as  he  is  assured  of  the  soundness 
of  the  security,  and  of  the  regularity  of  its  dividends.  The  chief 
influence  which  should  lead  him  to  disDose  of  his  securitv  would  be 
some  positive  information  regarding  the  mismanagement  of  the  enter¬ 
prise,  or  the  decline  in  its  earning  power. 

If  a  prudent  investor  should  seek  to  make  money  by  other  means 
than  through  the  actual  dividends  paid  upon  securities,  he  should  pro¬ 
ceed  with  great  conservatism,  and  should  be  prepared  to  retain  stocks 
that  did  not  move  upward  in  price  as  expected.  Some  of  the  greatest 
fortunes  have  been  made  by  speculators  who  have  bought  in  periods 
of  panic  when  everyone  else  was  selling.  They  picked  out  the  securi¬ 
ties  which  they  believed  to  be  sound,  and  held  them  until  the  panic 
ended  and  priees  rebounded.  They  were  then  able  to  sell  at  a  hand¬ 
some  profit,  independently  of  the  dividends  earned  by  the  securities. 
Henry  Clews,  speaking  of  the  veterans  of  the  market,  in  his  Twenty- 
Eight  Years  in  Wall  Street, says;  — 

<<  These  old  veterans  of  the  street  usually  spend  long  intervals  of  repose  at  their 
comfortable  homes,  and  in  times  of  panic,  which  recur  sometimes  oftener  than  once 
a  year,  these  old  fellows  will  be  seen  in  Wall  Street,  hobbling  down  on  their  canes 
to  their  brokers’  offices.  They  always  buy  good  stocks  to  the  extent  of  their  bank 
balances,  which  have  been  permitted  to  accumulate  for  just  such  an  emergency. 

To  this  method  of  dealing  is  attributed  much  of  the  wealth  of  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


195 


great  European  houses,  like  that  of  the  Rothschilds.  One  of  them, 
when  asked  for  the  secret  of  his  success,  offered  the  simple  formula,  I 
buys  ^  sheap  ^  and  sells  dear.  An  interesting  story  is  told  of  Nathan 
M.  Rothschild,  who  was  the  London  representative  of  the  house  at  the 
time  of  Napoleon’s  last  campaign.  Rothschild  was  determined  to  get 
the  earliest  news  of  the  result  of  the  fighting  in  Belgium.  He  was 
with  Wellington  at  Waterloo,  and  the  moment  he  was  confident  that 
the  issue  was  decided  against  Napoleon,  he  spurred  his  horse  to  Brus¬ 
sels,  took  post  carriages  to  the  seashore,  chartered  a  small  fishing 
boat,  in  the  face  of  a  terrific  storm,  by  a  bonus  of  $400,  and  the  next 
morning  stood  on  the  London  exchange  with  gloomy  countenance, 
hinting  at  a  terrible  defeat  for  the  English  and  allied  forces.  Stocks 
tumbled  violently.  Several  independent  brokers  whom  Rothschild 
had  secretly  retained,  bought  quietly,  but  steadily,  at  the  reduced 
prices.  Next  day  came  the  news  of  the  great  victory  of  Wellington 
and  the  retreat  of  Napoleon.  Stocks  bounded  upward,  and  Rothschild 
sold  at  enormous  profits. 

This  incident,  not  very  creditable  to  the  honesty  of  the  principal 
actor,  illustrates  the  methods  which  can  be  resorted  to  by  the  great 
speculators  in  order  to  mislead  ^Hhe  small  fry  and  to  manipulate 
the  market.  The  telegraph,  the  telephone,  and  the  ocean  cable,  have 
greatly  diminished  the  opportunities  for  frauds  of  this  character,  but 
they  are  still  possible  within  narrow  limits.  The  foolish  young  man 
or  woman  who  bets  on  margins,  ignorant  alike  of  the  real  value  of 
the  securities  and  of  the  secret  scheming  of  the  great  speculators,  is 
likely  to  find  himself  or  herself  as  hopelessly  plucked  as  is  the  most 
innocent  ^Hamb^^  from  the  backwoods  who  ventures  into  the  maelstrom 
of  the  stock  market.  The  small  or  ignorant  operator  usually  makes 
the  mistake,  also,  of  embarking  all  his  resources  on  narrow  margins. 
An  unexpected  change  in  market  conditions,  causing  prices  to  fall 
violently,  exhausts  his  margins,  and  compels  the  sale  of  his  holdings 
at  a  loss.  Many  professional  operators  in  securities  take  advantage 
of  these  conditions  to  raid  the  market,  knowing  that  when  they  have 
reduced  these  unsupported  margins,  there  will  be  a  rush  of  selling 
orders  that  will  tend  to  break  down  prices.  If  small  operators  kept 
strong  cash  reserves  for  strengthening  their  margins,  the  power  of  the 
bears  and  the  wreckers  to  raid  the  market  would  be  reduced,  and 
fewer  serious  losses  would  result.  It  is  the  judgment  of  many  veteran 
brokers,  upon  the  whole,  that  no  man  who  speeulates  on  margins  ever 
comes  out  ahead  in  the  long  run.  A  big  haul  at  one  time  only  spurs 
him  to  greater  recklessness  in  other  ventures,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
temptation  to  expand  his  expenses  and  manner  of  living,  that  comes 
naturally  when  money  can  be  obtained  without  being  squarely  earned. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


196 

The  legitimate  broker  or  speculator  who  gives  his  whole  time  to  the 
study  of  market  conditions,  the  needs  for  commodities  in  different 
countries,  the  influences  tending  to  create  abundant  or  scarce 
money,  and  the  probability  of  panic  or  prosperity,  earns  what  he  gets 
as  the  reward  of  his  research  and  judgment,  but  even  he,  with  the 
utmost  exertion  of  his  faculties,  acts  in  the  presence  of  manifold 
uncertainties,  which  may  turn  an  expected  margin  of  profit  into  a 
heavy  loss. 

The  safest  rule  to  be  followed  by  women  with  property  is  to  seek 
sound  and  safe  investments,  and  to  draw  a  regular  income  from  them, 
and  not  to  meddle  with  the  stock  market  in  any  other  way.  There 
is  no  occasion  for  changing  investments,  unless  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  they  are  losing  their  safety  and  earning  power.  One  of 
the  most  dangerous  temptations  set  before  women,  as  well  as  before 
many  men,  is  the  promise  of  large  dividends  through  investment  in 
some  new  enter-prise.  A  persuasive  friend,  whose  reputation,  so  far 
as  the  woman  knows,‘may  be  as  good  as  that  of  any  person  among 
her  acquaintance,  will  often  urge  such  investment,  and  paint  glowing 
pictures  of  the  large  and  certain  returns  to  be  derived  from  them. 
For  several  reasons,  serious  warnings  may  be  given  against  listening 
to  such  propositions. 

The  first  reason  is  that  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  character 
and  integrity  of  business  and  professional  men.  These  differences 
are  well  understood  by  men  who  come  often  in  contact  with  them, 
but  they  may  not  be  known  to  their  women  friends.  The  man  who 
is  apparently  plausible,  ingenious,  and  socially  popular,  may  be  well 
known  by  his  fellow  business  men  and  by  brokers,  and  financiers,  to 
be  untrustworthy,  shady,  and  more  or  less  unscrupulous  in  his  deal¬ 
ings;  If  he  is  known  to  possess  these  traits  with  men,  where  he  has 
to  be  on  his  guard  against  making  statements  which  are  subject  to 
the  test  of  their  long  business  training,  he  will  be  likely  to  give  much 
freer  play  to  such  traits  with  women,  who  are  not  familiar  with  busi¬ 
ness  matters,  because  they  cannot  apply  the  test  of  minute  knowledge 
of  business  propositions  to  his  rose-tinted  bubbles.  Such  men  are 
extremely  dangerous  to  women,  and  the  more  so,  the  greater  their 
personal  and  social  charms.  They  carefully  avoid  acts  that  are  con-  ' 
trary  to  law,  or  that  would  brand  them  publicly  as  criminals,  but  they 
sail  as  close  to  the  edge  of  fraudulent  misrepresentation  as  can  be 
done  without  sacrificing  respectability.  In  some  cases,  their  fault  is 
not  intentional  dishonesty,  but  a  real  exuberance  of  enthusiasm  for 
dubious  enterprises  by  which  they  deceive  themselves  as  completely 
as  they  deceive  other  people. 

It  may  be  safely  declared,  that  if  the  investments  which  this  class 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


197 


of  men  offer  to  g-iilHble  men  and  women  were  as  meritorious  as  they 
describe,  they  would  have  no  occasion  to  urge  them.  They  would 
find  capitalists  with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  eager  to  invest 
in  any  safe  enterprise  that  promised  more  than  the  current  rates  of 
four  or  five  per  cent.  These  capitalists  are  the  very  people  who 
ought  to  embark  on  such  enterprises,  where  they  are  somewhat  spec¬ 
ulative  and  yet  give  actual  promise  of  merit.  Capitalists  with  large 
means  often  take  shares  in  new  enterprises  because  they  embody 
the  possibilities  of  great  things  in  spite  of  serious  risk.  They  can 
afford  to  lose.  They  act  with  their  eyes  open,  and  take  the  chances 
of  loss.  The  man  and  woman  of  moderate  means,  who  does  not  care 
to  lose,  cannot  afford  to  go  into  such  enterprises.  The  chances  of  loss 
are  great  enough  in  those  enterprises  upon  which  capitalists  are  will¬ 
ing  to  embark ,  they  are  infinitely  greater  in  those  which  do  not  even 
tempt  capitalists,  and  which  are  imposed  upon  men  and  women  who 
have  not  the  business  and  professional  training  to  see  their  weak 
points,  or  to  resist  the  special  pleading  of  their  promoters. 

Sight. — The  time  when  a  bill  is  presented  to  a  drawee. 

Sight  Draft. —  One  payable  at  sight,  i.  c.,  when  presented. 

Silent  Partner.— One  who  furnishes  capital  but  takes  no  active 
part  in  a  business. 

Sinking  Fund. —  A  fund  set  apart  from  revenue  to  pay  a  public 
or  corporation  debt. 

Specialty.' — K  written,  sealed,  and  delivered  contract. 

Specie. —  Any  kind  of  coined  money. 

SPELLING 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  of  the  somewhat  arbitrary  and 
irregular  manner  in  which  the  words  of  the  English  language 
are  spelled,  and  although  many  steps  have  been  taken  to  bring 
about  a  reform,  nothing  really  radical  in  that  direction  has  been 
done.  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  overthrow  a  system  of  spelling 
which  has  become  firmly  established  by  the  usage  of  hundreds  of 
years,  especially  when  this  is  sought  to  be  accomplished  by  thrusting 
upon  the  country  at  large  a  set  of  rules  with  the  expectation  that 
everyone  will  learn  and  faithfully  follow  them. 

Unfortunately,  the  contentions  of  those  who  cry  out  at  what  they 
term  the  absurdity  of  our  spelling  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  true. 
It  is  contended  by  some  philologists  that  originally  our  spelling  was 
purely  phonetic  and  that  the  present  awkward  forms  are  the  result  of 


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198 

typographical  errors,  ignorance,  and  whim,  but  this  theory  is  ridiculed 
by  many  others.  The*  fact  is,  we  are  struggling  toward  a  consistent 
and  phonetic  system  by  degrees,  which,  although  almost  imperceptible, 
are  thoroughly  in  accord  with  the  philological  maxim,  write  as  you 
speak.  This  struggle  is  but  a  natural  evolution  whose  course  cannot 
be  quickened  artificially,  as  is  believed  by  those  individuals  who  call 
themselves  reformers.  The  natural  antipathy  of  the  race  to  incon¬ 
sistency  and  complexity  will  continue  to  assent  itself,  and  by  a  process 
of  mutual  tacit  consent,  these  objectionable  features  will  slowly,  but 
certainly,  wear  away. 

It  is  conceded^  however,  that  much  positive  good  can  be  done  by 
the  votaries  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  so  far  as  the  nomenclatures  of 
their  professions  are  concerned,  for  the  reason  that  the  words  which 
they  contain  are  used  by  the  laity  to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  it  is 
possible  that  among  such  a  small  percentage  of  the  population  of  the 
country  as  each  profession  comprises  a  reform  can  be  made.  In  this 
connection  the  action  of  the  chemical  section  of  the  American  Asso¬ 
ciation  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  may  be  mentioned.  This  body 
passed  a  resolution  advising  that  the  report  of  its  committee  on  spell¬ 
ing  and  pronunciation  of  chemical  terms  be  followed.  This  section 
has  received  the  approbation  of  many  eminent  chemists  in  the  United 
States,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Harvey  W.  Wiley,  M.D., 
Ph.D.,  chemist  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture;  Albert  B.  Pres¬ 
cott,  M.D.,  Ph.D.,  late  president  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  and  Edward  S.  Wood,  Professor  of  Chemis¬ 
try,  Harvard  University. 

The  number  of  conventions  that  have  been  held  for  the  purpose 
of  endeavoring  to  bring  about  a  general  reform  in  spelling  is  sur¬ 
prising,  and  this  coupled  with  the  fact  that  very  little  has  been  ac¬ 
complished  would  seem  to  indicate  the  almost  utter  uselessness  of 
such  a  method.  They  have,  however,  been  attended  by  eminent  and 
learned  men,  prominent  among  these  being  Benjamin  Franklin  and 
Noah  Webster,  both  of  whom  made  vigorous  efforts  for  reform.  In 
England,  Isaac  Pitman,  the  inventor  of  phonography,  spent  a  number 
of  years  laboring  for  it.  In  1874,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Philological  Association,  in  Hartford,  the  president  called  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  monstrous  spelling  of  the  English  language.  In  1875, 
a  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  the  first  president  of  the 
association  (Professor  William  D.  Whitney)  and  other  representatives 
of  our  great  universities  of  linguistic  science,  to  whom  the  whole  sub¬ 
ject  was  referred.  The  next  year,  1876,  they  reported  in  favor  of  a 
reform  and  laid  down  the  principles  which  should  guide  it.  This 
committee  has  been  continued  ever  since  from  year  to  year. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


199 


In  1876  an  international  convention  for  the  advancement  of  Eng¬ 
lish  orthography  was  held  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  well  attended  from 
all  sections  of  this  country  and  England.  It  was  presided  over  by 
Professor  Samuel  S.  Haldeman,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
at  that  time  president  of  the  Philological  Association.  On  August 
17,  the  convention  resolved  itself  into  the  Spelling  Reform  Associa¬ 
tion.  The  deliberations  of  the  convention  led  to  an  agreement  to  re¬ 
fer  all  alphabetic  questions  to  the  Philological  Association,  and  their 
ideas  and  the  proposed  methods  of  reform  laid  before  the  committee 
of  that  association.  In  July,  1877,  the  committee  presented  to  the 
Philological  Association  a  report  that  contained  the  recommendation 
of  a  phonetic  alphabet,  and  in  the  same  year  this  alphabet  was  adopted 
by  the  Spelling  Reform  Association.  It  is  called  the  Standard 
Phonetic  Alphabet  and  by  it  words  can  be  formed  with  simplicity 
and  correctness.  In  addition  to  this  alphabet,  the  Philological  Asso¬ 
ciation  in  1886,  adopted  a  set  of  rules  which  if  put  into  general  use 
would  greatly  change  the  spelling  of  a  large  majority  of  our  words. 
But  where  are  the  results  ?  In  spite  of  the  vast  amount  of  work,  no 
newspaper  or  magazine  has  had  the  courage  to  change,  even  in  slight- 
particulars,  the  spelling  of  the  words  intended  for  the  public  eye. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  while  it  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to 
suggest  reform  and  where  it  shall  be  applied,  it  is  an  exceedingly 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  project  to  bring  it  about,  and  while  we  may 
hope  that  a  simple  method  of  spelling  will  fall  to  the  lot  of  succeed¬ 
ing  generations,  it  is  our  manifest  duty  to  fall  to  work  and  master 
the  spelling  of  the  present  day  in  spite  of  its  difficulties. 

Incorrect  spelling  is  so  common  a  failing  that  even  men  deeply 
learned  in  other  sciences  are  deficient  in  it.  The  Civil  Service  ex¬ 
aminations  in  this  country  show  that  about  eighty-five  per  cent,  of 
those  examined  for  clerical  positions  fall  short  in  this  branch.  The 
other  fifteen  per  cent.,  however,  show  aptitude  for  it,  which  would  in¬ 
dicate  that  there  are  but  two  degrees  of  spellers,  ^^good^^  and  ^^bad,^^ 
and  from  this  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that  spelling  is  as  much  of  a 
natural  gift  as  painting  or  singing.  Certainly  we  do  not  spell  entirely 
by  rule.  What  sense  then  is  it  that  is  employed  ?  Obviously  that  of 
sight,  together  with  the  faculty  of  association.  If  a  person  endowed 
with  a  keen  sight  and  a  good  memory  sees  a  rosebush  growing  beside 
an  oak  tree,  he  will  remember,  should  he  desire  to  locate  the  bush  at 
some  future  time,  that  it  is  adjacent  to  a  tree  of  that  character,  and 
thus  he  will  be  enabled  readily  to  find  it.  Similarly  he  will  be  en¬ 
abled  to  remember  that  in  certain  words  an  e  follows  a  g  and  in  cer¬ 
tain  others  it  is  followed  by  some  other  letter. 

There  is  no  excuse  for  misspelling  ,the  short  words  that  appear 


200 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


before  our  eyes  hundreds  of  times  a  day,  unless  we  be  bereft  of  our 
faculties,  yet  how  frequently  are  we  surprised  at  the  ignorance  of  our 
learned  friends  from  whom  we  receive  communications;  as  to  the 
longer  words,  why  should  we  misspell  them  while  there  are  good  dic¬ 
tionaries  in  abundance  and  every  means  of  access  to  them?  In  spite 
of  the  vagaries  and  inconsistencies  in  our  spelling,  hundreds  of  errors 
may  be  safely  attributed  to  carelessness  and  negligence.  With  a  full 
realization  of  the  danger  of  error,  it  is  our  duty  to  employ  all  possi¬ 
ble  means  of  improving  ourselves  in  this,  the  most  important  branch 
of  our  education. 

The  following  set  of  rules  for  spelling  English  words  is  strongly 
commended  to  the  student  who  desires  to  pursue  the  subject  of  or¬ 
thography  in  an  orderly  manner. 

This  classification  and  arrangement  is  made  with  a  view  to  sim  < 
plicity,  and  if  the  student  will  master  one  rule  at  a  time,  and  that  one 
thoroughly,  in  a  short  time  he  will  possess  a  systematic  knowledge  of 
spelling  that  will  prove  of  inestimable  value. 


Monosyllables 

1.  Monosyllables  ending  with  /,  or  y,  preceded  by  a  single  vowel, 
double  the  final  letter;  as  staffs  wtl/,  pass.  The  only  important  ex¬ 
ceptions  are  clef.,  if.,  of;  bul.,  nul.,  sal.,  sol;  as,  gas,  has,  was,  yes,  gris,  his, 
is,  this,  pus,  thus,  us. 

2.  Monosyllables  ending  in  any  other  consonant  than  f,  I,  or  do 
not  double  the  final  letter.  The  only  common  exceptions  are  abb, 
ebb,  add,  odd,  bigg,  egg,  mumin  (to  mask),  inn,  bunn,  err,  burr,  purr, 
mitt,  fizz,  fuzz,  buzz. 

3.  A  consonant  at  the  end  of  a  word  immediately  after  a  diph¬ 
thong  or  double  vowel  is  not  doubled;  except  in  the  word  guess. 


Doubling  Final  Consonants 

I.  Monosyllables  and  words  accented  on  the  last^  syllable  ending 
with  a  single  consonant  (except  h  or  x)  preceded  by  a  single  vowel, 
or  by  qu  and  a  vowel,  double  the  final  consonant  before  an  additional 
termination  beginning  with  a  vowel,  whether  a  syllable  is  added  or 
not;  as  rob,  robbed,  robber,  robbing;  regret,  regretting,  regretted;  fop, 
foppish,  foppery;  committee ;  thin,  thmner,  thmnest,  etc.  Except  that 
when  the  place  of  the  accent  is  changed,  the  final  consonant  is  not 
doubled;  as  refer,  referenee,  referable;  prefer ,  preferable. 


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201 


2.  A  final  consonant  when  it  is  preceded  by  a  diphthong  or  by 
two  vowels,  or  when  the  accent  is  not  on  the  last  syllable,  is  not 
doubled  on  assuming  an  additional  termination;  as  oil^  oiling^  oily; 
briefs  briefer^  briefest;  real^  realize^  realist;  benefit^  benefiting^  benefited; 
equals  equalize^  equality. 

3.  An  important  exception  to  this  rule  exists,  by  general  usage, 
in  regard  to  words  ending  in  in  which  /  is  usually  doubled  on 
taking  an  additional  termination  beginning  with  a  vowel,  excepting 
only  in  the  word  novelist  and  the  derivatives  of  parallel.,  as  paralleled, 
paralleling,  etc.  The  following  list  comprises  all  the  verbs  which 
double  the  final  /  on  taking  an  additional  syllable:  — 


apparel 

drivel 

imperil 

parcel 

shovel 

bevel 

duel 

jewel 

pencil 

shrivel 

bowel 

embowel 

kennel 

peril 

snivel 

cancel 

enamel 

label 

pistol 

tassel 

carol 

empanel 

level 

pommel 

trammel 

cavil 

equal 

libel 

quarrel 

travel 

channel 

gambol 

marshal 

ravel 

tunnel 

chisel 

gravel 

marvel 

revel 

unravel 

counsel 

grovel 

model 

rival 

vial 

cudgel 

dishevel 

handsel 

panel 

rowel 

victual 

Other  common  exceptions  to  the  rule  are  humbug,  periwig,  zigzag, 
kidnap,  worship,  eompromit,  carburet,  and  similar  chemical  terms  ending 
in  uret,  which  double  the  last  letter  before  an  addition,  and  also  the 
word  woollen,  from  wool. 

5.  The  reason  for  doubling  in  all  these  cases  is  to  prevent  mis¬ 
pronunciation.  Webster,  however,  allows  none  of  these  exceptions 
to  the  rule  except  in  the  derivatives  of  hmnbug,  periwig,  zigzag,  and 
eompromit. 

Words  Ending  with  a  Double  Letter 

1.  Words  ending  with  any  double  letter  preserve  it  double  before 
any  added  termination  not  beginning  with  the  same  letter,  and  in  all 
derivatives  formed  by  means  of  prefixes;  as  wooer,  seeing,  agreeable, 
stillness,  blissful,  recall,  depress,  foresee. 

2.  Except  instalment,  enthralment,  thraldom,  ejirolment,  dulness,  ful¬ 
ness.,  skilful,  skilfully,  wilful,  ivilfully,  and  words  derived  from  pontiff, 
pontific.  Also  withal,  therewithal,  wherewithal,  until,  as  well  as  distil, 
fulfil,  and  instil,  with  their  derivatives.  Webster,  however,  doubles 
the  I  in  all  these  words,  except  withal,  therewithal,  whereivithal,  and 
until. 


202 


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Final  or  «  CK  » 

1.  Monosyllables  and  verbs  of  more  than  one  syllable  ending  with 
the  sound  of  k  take  ck  at  the  end,  as  black,  stick,  knock,  etc.  The 
only  exceptions  are  the  monosyllables  lac,  sac,  talc,  zinc,  plac,  roc,  soc, 
marc,  arc,  and  fisc ;  and  the  verbs  frolic,  mimic,  physic,  traffic,  havoc, 
and  bivouac,  with  the  present  tense.  But  when  these  verbs  assume 
the  termination  cr,  ed,  or  mg,  the  k  is  inserted  to  show  the  hard  sound, 
as  frolic,  frolicking ;  traffic,  trafficked. 

2.  Words  of  more  than  one  syllable  ending  in  ic  or  iac  are  written 
without  the  k ;  as  music,  critic,  maniac  {derrick  is  an  exception). 
Words  of  more  than  one  syllable,  in  which  c  is  preceded  by  any  other 
vowel  than  is  or  ia,  end  in  ck.  But  almanac,  sandarac,  limbec,  xebec, 
maniac,  and  havoc  are  exceptions. 

Final  Or  or  Our 

All  words  formerly  ending  in  our  with  the  o  unsounded  are  now 
invariably  spelled  in  America  or;  as  honor,  labor ,  parlor ,  etc.  The 
only  exception  is  the  word  Saviour  in  referring  to  Christ.  In  Eng¬ 
land  the  u  is  retained  in  many  of  these  words. 

Final  Ise  or  Ize 

The  only  verbs  ending  with  the  sound  of  ize  which  are  now  spelled 
ise  in  this  country  are  the  following:— r 


advertise 

compromise 

enfranchise 

premise 

advise 

comprise 

enterprise 

reprise 

affranchise 

criticise 

exercise 

revise 

apprise 

devise 

exorcise 

rise 

arise 

despise 

improvise 

supervise 

catechise 

disfranchise 

merchandise 

surmise 

chastise 

disguise 

misprise 

surprise 

circumcise 

divertise 

1.  Derivatives  from  words  ending  with  silent  e  after  a  conso¬ 
nant,  as A, edge,  edgeless  ;  hate,  hateful ;  chaste,  chastely ,  ^\.q. 

The  words  zvholly,  nursling,  abridgment,  acknozvledgment ,  judgment, 
lodgment,  and  wisdom  are  the  only  common  exceptions. 

2.  When  the  final  e  is  immediately  preceded  by  another  vowel 
(except  e  or  i),  it  is  generally  dropped  before  a  consonant,  as  true, 
truly ;  argue,  argument ;  awe,  awful ;  woe,  woful.  But  the  e  is  retained 
in  some  words  of  this  class,  as  bluely,  blueness,  trueness,  rueful,  shoe¬ 
less,  eyeless. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


203 


3.  Derivatives  from  words  ending  with  silent  e  omit  the  e  when 
the  termination  added  begins  with  a  vowel  (with  the  exeeption  given 
below);  as  bride  ^  bridal;  guide,  guidance ;  use,  ifsage ;  force,  forcible ; 
triie,  truism;  sale,  salable ;  eye,  eyeing;  centre,  centring;  rule,  ruling; 
mileage  is  an  exception. 

4.  Words  ending  with  cc  or  ge  retain  the  e  before  the  words  begin¬ 
ning  with  a  or  0  to  preserve  the  soft  sound  of  the  c  or  g ;  as  trace, 
traceable ;  change,  changeable ;  courage,  courageous  ;  outrage,  outrageous. 
Legal  usage,  however,  is  in  favor  of  mortgagor . 

5.  The  e  is  retained  in  hoeing,  shoeing,  and  teeing ;  and  also  in  the 
words  dyeing,  singeing,  and  tingeing  to  distinguish  them  from  dying, 
singing,  swinging,  and  tinging. 

6.  Words  ending  with  ie  change  the  ie  to  y  on  taking  the  addi¬ 
tional  syllable  ing;  as  die,  dying ;  lie,  lying ;  vie,  vying. 

Final 

1.  Words  ending  with  y  preceded  by  a  consonant  change  the  y  to  i 
before  any  termination  not  beginning  with  i ;  as,  cojitrary,  contrarily, 
co7itrariness ;  icy,  iciest,  icily ;  merry,  merrier,  merriest,  merrily,  merri¬ 
ment ;  pity,  pitiful,  pitiless,  pitiable,  pitied,  pitiest ;  spy,  spied,  spies. 

2.  Adjectives  of  one  syllable  ending  in  y  are  exceptions,  and 
retain  the  y ;  as  sly,  slyer,  slyest,  slyly,  slyness ;  spry,  sprycr,  spryest, 
spryly,  spryness ;  dry,  dryly,  dryness.  But  dies  and  driest  are  usually 
written  with  the  i. 

3.  Derivatives  of  words  ending  in  y  which  are  formed  by  adding 
ship  are  also  exceptions;  as  ladyship,  suretyship.  Also  the  words  baby¬ 
hood  and  lady  kin. 

4.  Words  ending  with  y  preceded  by  a  vowel,  do  not  change  the 
y  before  an  added  termination;  as  gay,  gayety,  gayly,  gayness ;  play, 
playful,  playing.  The  word  daily  is  an  exception,  as  are  a  few  irreg¬ 
ular  verbs,  like  said,  saith,  paid,  laid,  etc. 

The  Plural 

1.  The  regular  plural  of  nouns  is  formed  by  the  addition  of  .y  to 
the  singular;  as  book,  books;  shoe,  shoes;  eye,  eyes ;  straw,  straivs ; 
horse,  horses,  etc. 

2.  If  the  singular  ends  with  .9,  sh,  eh  soft,  or  x,  the  plural  is  formed 
by  the  addition  of  es ;  as  omnibus,  omnibuses ;  mass,  masses ;  lash,  lashes  ; 
church,  churches ;  fox,  foxes. 


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3.  If  the  singular  ends  in  0  preceded  by  another  vowel,  the  plural  . 

is  formed  regularly  by  adding  as  folio ^  folios ;  cameo ^  cameos ;  bam¬ 

boo,  bamboos ;  embryo^  embryos ;  two,  tivos. 

4.  If  the  singular  ends  with  0  preceded  by  a  consonant,  the  plural 

is  generally  formed  by  adding  echo,  echoes;  hero,  heroes;  motto, 

mottoes  ;  potato,  potatoes. 

5.  Proper  names  ending  in  0,  and  the  following  commion  nouns, 
form  the  pliiral  regularly,  as  Ncros,  and 


albino 

fresco 

limbo 

portico 

solo 

canto 

grotto 

momento 

quarto 

stiletto 

cento 

halo 

octavo 

rotundo 

torso 

domino 

junto 

piano 

salvo 

tyro 

duodecimo 

lasso 

proviso 

sirocco 

6.  Nouns  ending  in  y  preceded  by  a  consonant  or  by  qu  form  the 
plural  by  changing  y  into  ics ;  as  lady,  ladies ;  mercy,  mercies ;  body, 
bodies ;  colloquy,  colloquies.  But  if  the  y  is  preceded  by  a  vowel,  ^  only 
is  added  for  the  plural;  as  boy,  boys;  day,  days ;  valley,  valleys ;  but 
ay,  ayes.  Some  proper  names  ending  in  y  simply  add  for  the  plural ; 
as  Henry,  Henrys ;  Tally,  Tally s. 

7.  The  third  person  singular  of  verbs  is  formed  in  accordance 
with  the  foregoing  rules;  as  sides,  marches,  goes,  begs. 

8.  The  following  nouns  ending  in  f  or  fe  form  the  plural  f  or  fe 
into  ves ;  viz,  beef,  calf,  elf,  half,  knife,  leaf,  life,  self,  sheaf,  zvife,  zuolf 
and  zvharf.  Staff  is  usually  written  staves  in  the  plural.  All  other 
nouns  ending  in  f,  fe,  or  ff^  form  the  plural  regularly;  as  proof,  proofs; 
strife,  strifes,  etc. 

9.  The  plural  of  the  following  words  is  made  by  changing  the 
vowel  sound  of  the  singular;  as,  man,  men;  zvoman,  women;  goose, 
geese;  foot,  feet ;  tooth,  teeth ;  mouse,  'mice.  Compounds  of  these  words 
form  the  plural  in  the  same  way;  as,  dormouse,  countrymen.  But  the 
syllable  man  at  the  end  of  a  word  must  not  be  mistaken  for  a  com¬ 
pound  of  the  word  man ;  as  german,  germans ;  talisman,  talismans. 
The  plural  of  ox  is  oxen;  child,  childreti. 

10.  Many  words  derived  from  the  classical  or  from  foreign  lan¬ 
guages  retain  the  plural  form  of  the  language  from  which  they  are 
taken,  although  many  of  them  have  also  the  regular  English  plural ; 
as  crisis,  crises ;  hypothesis,  hypotheses ;  criterion,  criteria  ;  memorandum, 
'jjiemoranda ;  matrix,  matrices;  larva,  larvce ;  appendix,  appendiees ; 
genus,  genera ;  beau,  beaux;  bandit,  banditti  or  bandits;  seraph,  sera¬ 
phim  or  seraphs. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


505 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  words  the  spelling  of  which  is  dis¬ 
puted,  showing  the  opposing  forms.  The  form  given  first  is  the 
one  accepted  by  the  higher  authorities,  whose  criterion  is,  of  course, 
the  concensus  of  usage. 

The  tendency  nowadays  is  to  simplify  the  spelling  of  words.  This 
has  given  use  to  two  or  sometimes  more  forms  of  the  same  word. 
Those  in  favor  of  spelling  reform  adhere  to  the  simpler  form. 
Those  who  believe  that  the  word  should  in  its  form  show  some  re¬ 
semblance  to  the  foreign  word  whence  it  was  derived  cling  as  per¬ 
sistently  to  the  old  form.  This  is  largely  the  cause  of  disputed  spell¬ 
ings.  There  are  other  factors  which  cause  this  duplication  of  form. 
Among  these  are  local  peculiarities  of  pronunciation  which  frequently 
distorts  the  form  of  a  word.  The  most  noticeable  among  the  list 
here  given  are  chemical  terms  such  as  bromin  or  bromine;  iodin, 
iodine;  chlorin,  chlorine.  The  elision  of  the  final  e  of  this  class  of 
words  conform  to  a  resolution  passed  by  the  Chemical  section  of 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  advising 
such  form  to  be  adopted. 

The  best  authorities  are  not  always  in  our  immediate  reach,  and 
in  cases  where  such  as  are  accessible  are  considered  only  mediocre, 
or  are  in  conflict,  a  reference  to  this  list  will  afford  the  desired 
information :  — 

List  of  Words  of  Disputed  Spelling. 


abatis;  abattis 

abetter;  abettor 

abietin;  abietine 

abridgment ;  abridgement 

acacin ;'  acacine 

accessary;  accessory 

accounter;  accountre 

acetamid;  acetamide 

Achean  ;  Achaean ;  Achaian 

achenium ;  achsenium ;  akenium ;  achene 

acknowledgment ;  acknowledgement 

acmite;  akmite;  achmite 

aconitin ;  aconitine 

addable;  addible 

addorsed  ;  adorsed ;  adossed 

adipocere;  adipocire 

admittable;  admittible;  admissible 

adz;  adze 

segilops;  egilops 

seolididae;  eolididae;  eolidae 

aepyornis;  epiornis;  epyornis 

aerie;  aery;  eyrie;  eyry;  airy 

agistor;  agister;  agistator 


aglet;  aiglet 

agriculturist ;  agriculturalist 
aide-de-camp;  aid-de-camp 
aigret;  aigrette 
ajutage;  adjutage 
alanin ;  alinine 
alantin;  alantine 
alcaide ;  alcaid  ;  alcade 
Alcoran;  Alkoran 
Algonkin ;  Algonquin 
aline;  align;  alline  • 
alkahest;  alcahest 
alkali ;  alcali ;  alcaly 
alouatte;  alouate;  allouatta 
ambassador;  embassador 
ambergris ;  ambergrease 
amianth;  amiantus;  amianthus 
amidin ;  amidine 
amortize;  amortise 

ampere-meter;  amperemeter;  ampere¬ 
meter 

amphidisc;  amphidisk 
amphitheater ;  amphitheatre 


2o6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


amjlin ;  amyline 

anacoluthon ;  anacolouthon 

analyze ;  analyse 

anapest;  anapaest 

anchoret;  anchorite 

andesine ;  andesin 

android ;  androides 

anemia;  anaemia 

anent ;  anenst 

annat ;  annate 

antecians ;  antaecians 

antemetic;  antiemetic 

anthocyanin ;  anthocyane 

antiarin ;  antiarine;  anthiarine 

antihypnotic ;  anthypnotic 

antimonureted ;  antimoniuretted 

apar;  apara 

apheresis ;  aphaeresis 

apheretic ;  apaeretic 

apodictic ;  apodeictic 

apodixis ;  apodeixis 

apostil ;  apostill ;  apostille 

apothegm ;  apophthegm 

apothem ;  apotheme 

appal ;  appall 

appalment;  appallment;  appalement 

appareled  ;  apparelled  ;  appareld 

apprize ;  apprise 

appui ;  appuy 

arabin ;  arabine 

araeostyle ;  areostyle 

arbalest;  arbalist ;  arblast 

arbor;  arbour 

archeus ;  archaeus 

ardor;  ardour 

argol ;  argal 

armor ;  armour 

arnut;  arnot;  arnott 

arrondi ;  arrondee  ;  arrondie 

arsenate ;  arseniate 

arshin;  arshine;  arsheen 

artocarpeous ;  artocarpous 

asafetida;  asafoetida 

asbestos;  asbestus 

asbolite  ;  asbolan  ;  asbolane 

ashlar;  ashler 

assizer;  assizor;  assisor;  assiser 
astrean ;  astraean 
attar  ;  ottar ;  otto 
attracter;  attractor 
aubergist ;  aubergiste 
aunty;  auntie 

auripigment;  auripigmentum 


autopsic  ;  autopsical ;  autoptical 
avellane ;  avellan 

aventurin  ;  aventurine  ;  avanturine 

avocet ;  avoset 

ax ;  axe 

ay;  aye 

aye ;  ay 

azym ;  azyme 

babiroussa  ;  babyrussa ;  babyroussa 

back-stairs;  backstair 

backward  ;  backwards 

bade ;  bad 

bailor ;  bailer 

bakshish  ;  bakhshish  ;  backshish 
balk ;  baulk 

ballatodse  ;.  ballottade ;  balotade 

baluster;  banister;  balister 

bandanna; bandana 

bandoleer;  bandileer;  bandolier 

banian ;  banyan 

banns ;  bans 

bapistery ;  bapistry 

barbecue ;  barbacue 

bark ;  barque 

barreled ;  barrelled 

barytone  ;  baritone  ;  baryton 

basin ;  bason 

bass ;  base 

bastile ;  bastille 

bastihado ;  bastinade 

basyl ;  basyle 

battledore ;  battledoor 

bauble ;  bawble 

bayadere ;  bayadeer 

bazaar;  bazar 

befall ;  befal 

behavior;  behaviour 

belabor;  belabour 

beldam ;  beldame 

benumb ;  benum 

benzin ;  benzine 

bergamot ;  burgamot 

berth ;  birth 

bestrew ;  bestrow 

betulin ;  betuline 

beveled  ;  bevelled  ;  bevilled 

biased ;  biassed 

binnacle;  binacle 

binoxid ;  binoxide;  binoxyde 

bisk ;  bisque 

bismuthin;  bismuthine 

bismutite ;  bismuthite 


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207 


bister;  bistre 
blamable;  blameable 
bogie ;  bogey ;  bogy 
boil ;  bile 

bombazine  ;  bombasin  ;  bombasine 

booze  ;  boose  ;  bouse 

boozy;  boosy;  bousy;  bouzy 

bothie ;  bothy;  boothy 

bourgeois ;  burgeois 

brachiopod ;  brachiopode 

braize ;  braise 

brand-new;  bran-new 

brazilin ;  brasilin;  brasiline 

bridesmaid ;  bridemaid 

bridesman ;  brideman 

brier;  briar 

brooch ;  broach 

brucin ;  brucine 

brunette;  brunett;  brunet 

brusk ;  brusque 

bruskness ;  brusqueness 

bryonin  ;  bryonine  ;  brionin 

bucaneer;  bucanier;  bucaneer 

bun ;  bunn 

buncombe ;  bunkum 

bunion ;  bunyon 

burnoose;  burnous;  burnos 

butyrin ;  butyrine 

buxin  ;  buxina ;  buxine 

cacique ;  cazique 
caesura ;  casura 
calcareous ;  calcarious 
caldron ;  cauldron 
caliber;  calibre 
calif;  caliph;  kaliph ;  kalif 
caliper ;  calliper 
calk ;  caulk 

calligraphy;  caligraphy 
caltrop;  calthrop;  caltrap 
calyx ;  calix 

camlet;  camblet;  caemlet 
camomile;  chamomile 
camphor;  camphire 
cannel ;  canal;  candle;  kennel 
cannoneer;  cannonier 
cantilever;  cantiliver;  cantaliver 
carat ;  caract ;  carrat ;  karat 
caravansary ;  caravansera ;  caravansery 
carnelian ;  carnelion;  cornelion 
cassava ;  cassada ;  casava ;  cassavi 
caster ;  castor 

catchup  ;  ketchup ;  catsup ;  katsup 


caviar ;  caviare 
celiac ;  caeliac 
centiped  ;  centipede 
chalcedony ;  calcedony 
chalice ;  calice 
chap ;  chop 
char;  chare;  chore 
check ;  cheque 
checker ;  chequer 
chints ;  chintz 
chlorid ;  chloride 
cigar;  segar 
clarinet;  clarionet 
clew ;  cltie 
clinch ;  clench 
doffs ;  dough 
coddle ;  codie 
colander  ;  cullender 
coolie ;  cooly  , 
coquette;  coquet 
cordwain;  cordovan 
cotillion ;  cotillon 
courtezan ;  courtesan 
cozy ;  cosey ;  cosy ;  cozey 
crawfish ;  crayfish 
crosslet ;  croslet 
crum ;  crumb 
cruse ;  cruise 
cyclopedia;  cyclopaedia 
czar ;  tzar ;  tsar 

dactyl;  dactyle 
daisied ;  dazied 
dangeld ;  dangelt 
defense;  defence 
defier;  defyer 
deflower;  deflour 
delft ;  delf ;  delph 
demain ;  demesne;  demean 
demeanor ;  demeanour 
dependent;  dependant 
desolater;  desolator 
despatch ;  dispatch 
detector;  detecter 
detractor;  detractor 
develop ;  develope 
devest;  divest 
dialed ;  dialled 
diarrhea;  diarrhoea 
dieresis ;  diaeresis 
dike ;  dyke 

disDurden;  disburthen 
disenthrall;  disinthrall;  disinthral 


2o8 


Business  and  commerce 


disabile ;  deshabille 

disheveled ;  dishevelled 

disk ;  disc 

disseize ;  disseise 

disseizin;  disseisin 

dissolvable ;  dissolvible ;  dissoluble 

distil ;  distill 

distrainer;  distrainor 

doctoress ;  doctress 

dodecahedron;  dodecaedron 

dolor ;  dolour 

dorj ;  doree 

dowry;  dowery 

draft;  draught 

dram;  drachm;  drachma 

driblet;  dribblet 

drier ;  dryer 

driveler;  driveller 

drought;  drouth;  drout 

dryly ;  drily 

dryness ;  driness 

dueler ;  dueller 

dulness ;  dullness 

edile ;  aedile 

eloin ;  eloign;  eloigne 

embarkation ;  embarcation 

embassage ;  embassy 

embitter;  imbitter 

embosom ;  imbosom 

embound ;  imbound 

emir;  amir;  ameer 

empale ;  impale 

emu ;  emeu 

enameler;  enameller 

enamor;  enamour 

encase ;  incase 

encenia;  encaenia 

enclasp ;  inclasp 

enclose ;  inclose 

enclosure;  inclosure 

encumbrance;  incumbrance 

encyclopedia;  encyclopaedia 

endeavor;  endeavour 

endure ;  indure 

engulf;  ingulf 

enroll;  enrol;  inrol;  inroll 

enrolment ;  inrolment ;  enrollment 

ensnare;  insnare 

enthrall;  enthral;  inthrall;  inthral 
entwine ;  intwine 
envelope ;  envelope 
Eolian;  ^olian 


eolipile  ;  aeolipile ;  eolipyle 
epauleted ;  epauletted 
ephah ;  epha 
epistolize ;  epistolise 
equaled;  equalled 
equerry ;  equery 
equivoke ;  equivoque 
esophagus ;  aesophagus 
esthetics ;  aesthetics 
etiology;  aetiology 
exactor ;  exacter 

fagot ;  faggot 
farther;  further 
favor;  favour 
fecal  ;  faecal 
feces ;  faeces 
feldspar;  felspar 
fetal ;  foetal 
fetus;  foetus 
fie ;  fy 

filibeg;  fillibeg;  philibeg;  filybeg 

flavor;  flavour 

fleur-de-lis ;  flower-de-lis 

flier;  flyer 

flotage;  floatage 

fluke  ;  flook ;  flowk 

fogy ;  fogie ;  fogey 

foray ;  forray 

foss ;  fosse 

foundry ;  foundery 

frantic ;  frenetic ;  phrenetic 

frowzy ;  frouzy ;  frousy 

frumenty;  furmenty;  furmety 

fueled ;  fuelled 

fugleman ;  fiugelman 

fulfil ;  fulfill 

fulness ;  fullness 

fusee ;  fusil 

fusileer ;  fusilier 

gage;  gauge 
gaiety;  gayety 
gaily;  gayly 
galleass ;  galeas 

galosh ;  golosh ;  galoche ;  galoshe 
galtp;  gault;  golt 
gamboled ;  gambolled 
gang  (mining)  ;  gangue 
gantlet ;  gauntlet ;  gantlope 
garrote ;  garote 
gasogen ;  gasogene 
gasolier;  gasalier;  gaselier 


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209 


gasoline;  gasolene 
gastropod ;  gasteropod 
gavot ;  gavotte 
gazel;  gazelle 
gelatin;  gelatine 
germane;  germain;  german 
gild;  guild 
gipsy;  gypsy 
glave ;  glaive 
gliadin;  gliadine 
globulin ;  globuline 
glochidiate ;  glochidate 
glycerin ;  glycerine 
goiter;  goitre 
goldilocks;  goldylocks 
good-by;  good-bye 
gormand ;  gourmarkd 
gram ;  gramme 
graveled ;  gravelled 
gray;  grey 
groveler;  groveller 
grue  ;  grew ;  grouse 
gruesome ;  grewsome 
Guelf ;  Guelph 
guerrilla;  guerilla 

haggis  ;  haggess  ;  haggies 

hallo;  halloo;  hollo;  holla;  hullo 

halloo;  hollo;  holloa;  hollow 

harbor;  harbour 

harken ;  hearken 

harmin;  harmine 

hashish  ;  hasheesh  ;  hashash 

hatcheled ;  hatchelled 

havesine;  havesin 

havoc ;  havock 

hematic ;  haematic 

hemorrhage ;  haemorrhage 

hiccup;  hiccough;  hickup 

hindrance;  hinderance 

Hindu-ism;  Hindoo-ism 

hoarhound  ;  horehound 

homeopathy;  homaeopathy 

homonym ;  homonyme 

honor;  honour 

hoope ;  hoopoo 

hostelry;  hostlery;  ostelry;  ostlery 
hoveler;  hoveller 
humor;  humour 
humulin;  humuline 
hureaulite;  huraulite 
hypotenuse;  hypothenuse 
hypoxanthin ;  hypoxanthine 

13—14 


idolize ;  idolise 

ignorantin;  ignorantine 

illegalize;  illegalise 

illicin ;  illicine 

Illinoisan;  Illinoisian 

immaterialize ;  immaterialise 

immersable ;  immersible 

immortalize ;  immortalise 

impaneled  ;  impanneled  ;  impanelled 

imperiled ;  imperilled 

incloister;  encloister 

indart;  endart 

indelible;  indeleble 

indicter;  indictor 

indigotin ;  indigotine 

indin;  indine 

indiscerpible ;  indescerptible 
indite;  endite 
indorse ;  endorse 
inferable ;  inferrible 
ingrain ;  engrain 
inventor;  inventer 

Jacobin ;  Jacobine 
jailer;  gaoler;  jailor 
jaunty;  janty 
jenneting;  geniting 
jetty;  jutty 
jeweled  ;  jewelled 
jowl ;  joll ;  jole 
julep;  juleb;  julap 
junket;  juncate 
just;  joust 

Kaaba;  Caaba 
kafir;  kaffir 
kale;  kail 

kaleidophone ;  kaleidophon 
kamila;  kamala;  kameela 
kapellmeister;  capellmeister 
keelhaul ;  keelhale 
keg;  cag 

kenneled ;  kennelled 
kermess ;  kirmess 
kernely ;  kernelly 
khamsin;  kamsin 

labeled ;  labelled 
labor;  labour 
lac  ;  lakh  ;  lack 

lacrimal;  lachrymal;  lacrymal 
lanyard ;  lanard 
laureled ;  laurelled 


2  10 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


leach  ;  leech  ;  letch 
lectern  ;  lecturn  ;  lecturne 
ledgment;  ledgement 
leger;  ledger 
leucorrhea ;  lucorrhsea 
leveled  ;  levelled 
libeled ;  libelled 
license;  licence 
licorice ;  liquorice 
likable ;  likeable 
lingot;  linget 
linnean ;  linnsean 
litchi ;  lichi ;  leechee 
liter;  litre 
llama;  lama 
lodestar;  loadstar 
lodestone ;  loadstone 
lodgment;  lodgement 
longe ;  lunge 
louver ;  louvre  ;  loover 

macaw ;  macao 

maccaboy ;  maccouba ;  maccoboy 

mahlstick ;  malstick;  maulstick 

mama ;  mamma ;  mammy  ;  mammie 

mamelluke ;  mamaluke 

manchu ;  manchoo  ;  mantchoo 

maneuver ;  manoeuver ;  manoeuvre 

margaron ;  margarone 

mark ;  marc 

marshaler;  marshaller 

marten;  martin 

martin ;  marten 

martingale;  martingal 

marveled ;  marvelled 

meager  ;  meagre 

medaled ;  medalled 

medic ;  medick 

medieval ;  mediaeval 

metaled ;  metalled 

meter;  metre 

milleped  ;  milliped  ;  millipede 
milreis ;  millrea;  millree 
mistletoe;  misseltoe;  misletoe 
miter;  mitre 
mizzle;  misle;  mistle 
mode ;  mood 
modeled ;  modelled 

Mohammedan;  Mahometan;  Mahomedan 

mold ;  mould 

molt ;  moult 

moneved ;  monied 

moneys ;  monies 


monoecian;  monecian 
mopsy ;  mopsey 

mortgagor;  mortgager;  mortgageor  - 

mullein;  mullen 

multiplied ;  multipede 

murrine  ;  murrhine  ;  myrrhine 

muscatel ;  muscadel 

musrole ;  musrol 

mustache ;  moustache 

muxy;  mucksy 

naught ;  nought 
neighbor;  neighbour 
nilgau ;  nilghau 
niter;  nitre 
noblesse ;  nobless 

obfuscate;  offuscate 
ocher;  ochre;  oker 
ochery ;  ochry ;  ochrey 
octastyle ;  octostyle 
octogynous ;  octagynous 
octoped ;  octopede 
odalisk ;  odalisque 
odor;  odour 
offense ;  offence 
oleomargarin ;  oleomargarine 
oligemia;  oligeemia 
olio;  oglio 
omber;  ombre 
omneity;  ornniety 
opuscule ;  opuscle 

orang-utan;  orang-outang;  orang-utang 

orthopedic ;  orthopaedic 

ossein;  osseine;  osteine;  ostein 

osteitis;  ostitis 

otolith ;  otolite 

oxid  ;  oxide  ;  oxyd 

oyes ;  oyez 

pahlavi ;  pehlevi 
palestra ;  palaestra 
panchway ;  pansway 
pandour;  pandoor 
paneled ;  panelled 
pantile;  pentile 
pantograph  ;  pantagraph 
papoose ;  pappoose 
pappose ;  pappous 
paraffin ;  paraffine 
paraleipsis ;  paralipsis 
paralleled ;  parallelled 
parallelepiped;  parallelopiped 
paralyze ;  paralyse 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


2X1 


parceled ;  parcelled 
pardao ;  pardo 
parlor;  parlour 
parol ;  parole 

parrakeet;  paraquet;  paroquet 

parrel ;  parral 

partizan ;  partisan 

pasha ;  pacha  ;  pashaw  ;  bashaw 

pasquilant;  pasquillant 

patchouli ;  patouchly 

peascod ;  peasecod 

pedler;  peddler;  pedlar 

pedlery;  peddlery;  pedlary 

pedobaptist;  psedobaptist 

pemmican ;  pemican 

penciled ;  pencilled 

penology;  poenology 

periled ;  perilled 

peroxid ;  peroxide 

petrolin ;  petroline 

pewit ;  peewit ;  pewet ;  peetweet 

phenician ;  Phoenician 

phenix;  phoenix 

phenology;  phtenology 

phenyl ;  phenyle 

picul;  pecul 

piepoudre;  piepowder 

pilau;  pillau 

pincers ;  pinchers 

pipistrel;  pipistrelle 

pistoled ;  pistolled 

pittizite ;  pitticite 

platyrhine ;  platyrrhine 

plot;  plat 

plow ;  plough 

pluviometer ;  pluviameter 

polyp;  polype 

porcelane;  porcellane 

portress ;  porteress 

pouter;  powter 

practise ;  practice 

pretense ;  pretence 

pretor;  praetor 

prillion  ;  prillon 

program ;  programme 

prologize;  prologuize 

provendor;  provedore 

ptyalin ;  ptyaline 

pullicat;  pulicat;  pullicate 

purr;  pur 

purr;  purre 

purslane;  purslain 

pyemia;  pyaemia 


quarreled ;  quarrelled 
quarterfoil;  quaterfoil ;  quatrefoil 
quartet ;  quartette  ;  quartetto 
questor;  quaestor 
quintest;  quintette;  quintetto 
quitter;  quittor 

raccoon  ;  racoon  ;  rackcoon 

radical ;  radicle 

raffia ;  roffia ;  rofia 

raja;  rajah 

raj  put;  rajpoot 

raki ;  rakee 

rambutan ;  rambootan 

rattan ;  ratan 

raven ;  ravin 

raya ;  rayah 

raze ;  rase 

reconnaissance ;  reconnoisance 

reconnoiter;  reconnoitre 

redout;  redoubt 

reenforce ;  reinforce 

referable;  referrible 

regrator ;  regrater 

reremouse;  rearmouse 

retroflexion;  retroflection 

reveled ;  revelled 

reverie;  revery 

reynard ;  renard 

rhubarbarin ;  rhabarbarin 

ridable ;  rideable 

ritornelle ;  ritornello 

rivaled ;  rivalled 

rotunda;  rotundo 

roweled ;  rowelled 

rubicel ;  rubicelle 

ruche ;  rouche 

rundel ;  rundle 

ryal ;  rial 

saber;  sabre 

sabianism  ;  sabaism  ;  sabaeism 
salaam ;  salam 
salep  ;  salop  ;  saleb 
salmi ;  salmis 
saltier;  saltire 
saltpeter;  saltpetre 
sambo ;  zambo 
samester;  samestre 
sandarac ;  sandarach 
sanguinarin ;  sanguinarine 
sanhedrin ;  sanhedrim 
Sanskrit ;  Sanscrit 


212 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


sapajou;  sapajo 

sapodilla;  sapadillo ;  sappodilla 

sappar;  sappare ;  sapparite 

sarlak ;  sarljk  ;  sarlac  ;  sarlik 

sarsenet;  sarcenet 

sassolin  ;  sassoline  ;  sassolite 

scamel ;  scammel ;  scainell 

scathe  ;  scaith  ;  scath 

scepter;  sceptre 

scotfree ;  shotfree 

scow ;  skow 

seawan  ;  seawane  ;  seawant 
sebat ;  shebat 

sebundy;  sebundee ;  sibandi 
seidlitz ;  sedlitz 
seizin ;  seisin 

seleniureted ;  seleniuretted 
semeiography ;  semiography 
Semitic ;  shemitic 
semolina;  semolino 
septemia;  septaemia 
sepulcher;  sepulchre 
sextet ;  sextette 
sestette ;  sextetto 
Shakesperian ;  Shakespearean 
shekinah;  shechinah 
sherif ;  scherif;  shereef;  shirriffe 
shoveled ;  shovelled 
shriveled ;  shrivelled 
silicious;  siliceous 
sillibub;  sillabub;  syllabub 
simitar;  cimeter;  cimiter;  scimiter;  scym- 
itar ;  cymeter 
sirup  ;  syrup  ;  sirop 
siscowet;  siskiwit;  siskowet 
skeptic  ;  sceptic  ;  sceptick 
skilful ;  skillful 
slay ;  sley ;  slaie 
sloke ;  sloak 
smolder ;  smoulder 
sniveler;  sniveller 
solan ;  soland 
sollar;  soller;  solar 
somber;  sombre 

somersault;  somerset,  summersault 

sorbin  ;  sorbine  ;  sorbite 

spahl ;  spahee  ;  sipahi 

spanceled ;  spancelled 

spanemia ;  spanaemia 

specter;  spectre 

spicknel ;  spignel 

squatarole;  squaterole 

stenciler;  stenciller 


subungual ;  subunguial 
sufi ;  sofi 

sulfureted  ;  sulphureted  ;  sulphuretted 

swankie ;  swanky 

swanpan ;  schwanpan 

swap ;  swop 

swiple ;  swipel;  swipple 

syenite ;  sienite 

sylvan ;  silvan 

synalepha ;  synaloepha 

synonym ;  synonyme 

tarpaulin;  tarpauling;  tarpawling 

tartan  ;  tartane 

tasseled ;  tasselled 

tasset;  tasse;  tasce 

tatar ;  tartar 

taut ;  taught 

teazel ;  teasel ;  teasle 

tellureted ;  telluretted 

tenail ;  tenaille 

tendriled ;  tendrilled 

theater;  theatre 

theatin ;  theatine 

tibet;  thibet 

tiffing ;  tiffin 

timbal ;  tymbal 

tingeing;  tinging 

tinseled ;  tinselled 

titbit;  tidbit 

tole ;  toll 

topi ;  topee 

toweling;  towelling 

trammeled ;  trammelled 

tranquilize;  tranquillize 

tranship ;  transship 

traveler;  traveller 

travertin;  travertine 

trivet ;  trevet 

troweled ;  trowelled 

trundle-bed  ;  truckle-bed 

tryst;  trist 

tumor;  tumour 

tunneled ;  tunnelled 

turnsole ;  turnsol 

ungeneraled ;  ungeneralled 
unriiowed;  unmown 
unspilt;  unspilled 
uzbeg ;  usbeg ;  usbek 

valor ;  valour 
vapor;  vapour 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


213 


veil;  vail 
vial;  phial 

victualed  ;  victualled 

vigor;  vigour 

villainy;  villany 

villenage;  villeinage;  villanage 

vurtu;  vertu 

vise;  vice 

vizor;  visor 

wagon ; waggon 
weir ;  wear ;  wier 
whelk ;  welk 


whippletree ;  whiffletree 

whisky;  whiskey 

whooping-cough ;  hooping-cough 

whop ;  whap 

withe ;  with 

wizen  ;  wizzen  ;  weazen 

woful ;  woeful 

woolen ;  woollen 

worshiper ;  worshipper 

zaffer;  zafire ;  zaffir 
zoolitic;  zoolithic  ) 

zymic ;  zumic 


Staple. —  Principal  commodity  of  a  country  or  district. 

Statute  Law. —  Body  of  laws  established  by  legislative  enact 
ment;  written,  as  opposed  to  unwritten  or  common  law. 


THE  ATTAINMENT  OF  SUCCESS  IN 

STENOGRAPHY 

By  EDA  C.  HOWARD 

IT  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  United  States  Government  is,  at  this 
writing,  finding  it  very  difficult  to  secure  capable  stenographers. 
In  the  Land  Office  Department  alone  there  are  several  vacancies 
for  good  shorthand  writers,  and  the  same  eondition  exists  in  other 
departments.  So  critical  has  the  situation  become,, that  the  Civil  Serv¬ 
ice  examiners  are  instructed  by  the  government  to  endeavor  to  get 
as  many  applicants  for  these  positions  as  possible.  It  is  true  that  the 
examinations  for  government  positions  are  so  rigid  as  to  debar  those 
who  have  not  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  art,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  there  are  not  enough  good  stenographers  who  are  willing  to  give 
up  positions  which  their  ability  has  gained  for  them,  to  aceept  even 
a  government  situation,  with  its  assurance  of  a  life  position. 

The  demand  for  good  stenographers  is  constantly  increasing,  and 
the  problem  of  meeting  this  increased  demand  is  becoming  serious. 
The  supply  of  seeond  and  third-class  shorthand  writers  is  practieally 
unlimited,  but  business  men  are  realizing  more  clearly  every  day  the 
necessity  of  having  thoroughly  competent  stenographers,  and  they  will 
not  knowingly  engage  those  who  are  not.  They  insist  that  every 
letter  which  is  sent  out  shall  be  above  critieism  as  to  form,  gram¬ 
matical  construction,  punctuation,  and  spelling.  They  want  to  feel 


^USINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


214 

that  they  can  depend  upon  the  good  judgment  of  their  stenographers 
to  relieve  them  of  much  of  the  burden  of  their  correspondence.  Re¬ 
garding  the  ordinary  run  of  letters,  they  want  to  be  able  to  have 
them  answered  by  giving  a  few  general  instructions,  without  being 
compelled  to  dictate  every  word.  They  want  to  feel  that  slight  gram¬ 
matical  errors,  which  are  apt  to  creep  into  quickly  dictated  letters, 
will  be  corrected.  In  this  way  the  stenographer  becomes  invalu¬ 
able  to  the  employer,  whose  time  must  be  economized  and  for 
this  reason,  ability  and  attention  to  details  will  be  more  promptly 
and  generously  recognized  in  a  stenographer  than  in  any  other  posi¬ 
tion  in  business  life. 

The  legal  department  of  a  great  city  recently  urged  the  Civil 
Service  Commissioners  to  offer  double  the  maximum  salary  usually 
paid  stenographers,  as  it  was  found  impossible  to  secure  the  right 
sort  without  such  inducement.  There  is  plenty  of  room  on  the 
upper  floors  in  this  business  edifice,  and  the  fact  ought  to  be  an 
inspiration  to  every  young  man  and  woman  who  has  chosen  stenog¬ 
raphy  as  a  profession.  In  addition  to  being  pleasant  and  profitable, 
it  has  the  peculiar  advantage  of  throwing  one  into  constant  and  inti¬ 
mate  communication  with  heads  of  firms  and  the  managers  of  great 
interests.  It  gives  one  a  rare  opportunity  to  become  thoroughly  fa¬ 
miliar  with  every  branch  Df  businCvSS. 

It  is  not  easy  to  become  a  good  stenographer.  It  requires  hard 
work,  patience,  and  perseverance,  but  success  is  within  the  reach  of  all 
who  are  ambitious  and  who  are  willing  to  pay  the  price.  Those  who 
practise  constantly  in  order  that  they  may  increase  their  speed  and 
efficiency  will  find  that  their  work  will  be  appreciated  and  their  serv¬ 
ices  in  demand. 

A  good  English  education  is  a  condition  precedent  to  the  study 
of  shorthand.  No  one  can  possibly  hope  to  be  a  good  stenographer 
who  is  not  familiar  with  the  rules  of  grammar,  punctuation,  and  spell¬ 
ing;  and  unless  these  rules  are  learned  thoroughly,  failure  will  be  inevi¬ 
table.  The  system  of  shorthand  which  the  student  chooses  is  also  an 
important  factor.  A  standard  system,  such  as  Munson’s,  Graham’s,  or 
Pitman’s  should  be  selected.  It  is  desirable  that  the  student  attend 
regular  lectures  and  continue  to  take  lessons  until  able  to  write  quickly 
and  accurately,  and  to  transcribe  notes  without  hesitation. 

If  attendance  at  a  stenographic  school  is  impracticable,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  art  may  be  acquired  at  home  by  closely  following 
the  course  of  instruction  marked  out  in  a  standard  text-book,  but  in 
this  case  the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  bad  habits  at  the 
beginning  of  study.  No  one  should  take  a  position  as  stenographer 
until  he  or  she  is  able  to  write  with  absolute  accuracy  at  least  one  hun- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


215 


dred  words  per  minute,  and  to  transcribe  the  same  perfectly.  It  is  well 
to  remember  that  in  shorthand  practice  is  everything,  and  that  it  should 
be  persisted  in  until  the  student  is  able  to  take  down,  verbatim,  the 
most  rapid  conversation. 

There  are  thousands  of  successful  men  in  every  branch  of  busi¬ 
ness,  and  in  every  profession,  who  have  used  a  knowledge  of  short¬ 
hand  as  a  stepping-stone  to  their  present  positions.  Indeed,  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  this  art  cannot  fail  to  be  useful,  no  matter  what  subsequent 
position  one  may  occupy.  Frank  A.  Vanderlip,  assistant  secretary  of 
the  United  States  Treasury,  says  that  a  knowledge  of  shorthand  was 
one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  giving  him  his  start  in  life,  and 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  has  furnished  opportunities  to  more  people 
than  any  other  single  profession  or  business. 

During  the  past  few  years,  a  great  many  women  have  entered  the 
field  of  shorthand  as  a  means  of  livelihood  and  have  met  with  much 
success.  There  is  no  danger  of  having  too  many  first-class  stenogra¬ 
phers.  The  demand  will  exceed  the  supply  for  many  years  to  come. 


Stock. —  Shares  in  the  capital  of  a  corporation. 

Stockholder.  —  One  who  holds  shares  of  stock. 

Subpoena. — 'A  writ  commanding  a  person  to  appear  in  court. 

Suffrage. —  The  right  to  vote  for  public  officials  or  for  proposed 
changes  in  the  fundamental  law,  at  an  election  in  town,  county,  state, 
or  nation. 

Sundries. —  Unclassified  articles. 

Surety. —  One  who  binds  himself  to  pay  money  in  case  another 
person  fails  to  pay,  to  fill  a  contract,  or  to  serve  with  integrity. 


TABLES 

The  Metric  System  —  What  It  Means  and  Where  It  Is  Used 

One  of  the  first  difficulties  which  confronts  the  merchant  in  enter¬ 
ing  into  trade  with  foreign  countries  is  the  diversity  of  weights  and 
measures  used  by  them. 

Countries  Which  Use  the  Metric  System. —  The  principal  systems 
of  weights  and  measures  used  in  various  parts  of  the  world  are:  The 
Imperial  System,  which  is  used  in  the  United  States,  Great  Britain, 
and  all  the  British  Colonies;  and  the  Metric  System,  which  is  the 
legalized  standard,  and  is  used  in  the  following  countries:  — 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


216 


Algeria, 
Argentine. 
Austria  (1876). 
Azores. 

Belgium  (1820). 
Brazil. 

Canary  Isles. 
Central  America. 
Chile. 


Colombia. 

Ecuador. 

France  (1790). 
Fernando  Po. 
Germany  (1868). 
Greece  ( i8",6). 
Holland  (1816). 
Haiti. 


Italy  (1845). 
Java. 

Madeira. 

Mexico. 

Norway  (1882). 
Peru. 

Portugal  (1S52). 
Roumania. 


Senegambia. 

Spain  (1853). 
Sweden  (1889). 
Switzerland  (1875), 
Turkey. 

Uruguay. 

Venezuela. 

West  Indies. 


The  population  of  the  metric-using  nations  aggregates  about  445,- 
500,000.  It  practically  includes  the  civilized  world,  except  Great 
Britain,  Russia,  and  the  United  States. 

The  Metric  System  has  been  authorized  by  Act  of  Congress  in  the 
United  States,  and  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Denmark  is  just  introducing  a  bill  for  its  use,  and  Russia  adopted 
the  system  Jan.  14,  1901. 

Metric  System  Explained. —  The  Metric  is  a  decimal  system,  the 
meter  being  the  basis  of  all  measures,  whether  of  length,  surface, 
capacity,  volume,  or  weight.  It  measures  39.37  inches,  and  is  theoret¬ 
ically  one  ten-millionth  of  the  distance  from  the  Eq^iator  to  the  Pole. 
Where  the  measurements  are  too  great  to  use  the  single  unit, 
multiples  of  the  unit  are  used,  and  are  indicated  by  the  Greek  pre¬ 
fixes  deca.,  hecto.,  and  kilo.^  indicating  respectively  tens,  hundreds,  and 
thousands.  When  the  quantities  are  so  small  that  the  unit  cannot  be 
conveniently  used,  decimal  parts  are  taken,  and  are  indicated  by  the 
Latin  prefixes  deci.^  centi^  and  wz7A,  meaning  respectively  tenth,  hun¬ 
dredth,  and  thousandth,  as  illustrated  in  the  following  table:  — 


I  millimeter . equals  jAn  meter 

I  centimeter .  “  “ 

I  decimeter .  “  “ 

I  meter. 

I  decameter . equals  10  meters 

I  hectometer .  “  100  “ 

I  kilometer..  .  “  1,000  “ 

Measures  of  Length. —  The  unit  of  length  is  the  meter  (39.37 
inches).  The  divisions  are  the  decimeter,  centimeter,  and  millimeter; 
the  multiples  are  the  decameter,  hectometer,  and  kilometer.  The 
meter,  like  the  English  yard,  is  used  in  measuring  cloth,  lace,  moder¬ 
ate  distances,  etc.  For  long  distances,  like  the  mile,  the  kilometer  is 
commonly  used;  but  for  short  or  minute  distances,  the  centimeter  and 
millimeter  are  used.  The  customary  abbreviations  in  the  measures  of 
length  are:  — 


mm . millimeter. 

cm . centimeter. 

dm  . decimeter. 

m . .  .  .meter. 

km . kilometer. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


217 

Measures  of  Surface. —  Measures  of  surface  are  derived  from 
measures  of  length,  and  the  unit  is  the  square  meter;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  a  surface  area  is  the  product  of  its  length  and 
width  —  thus,  a  square  centimeter  would  equal  one  hundred  square 
millimeters.  Hence  the  following:  — 

100  sq.  millimeters  equal  i  sq.  centimeter. 

100  sq.  centimeters  equal  i  sq.  decimeter. 

-  TOO  sq.  decimeters  equal  i  sq.  meter. 

1,000,000  sq.  meters  equal  i  sq.  kilometer. 

The  square  meter  is  used,  like  the  square  yard,  in  measuring  small 
areas  —  ceilings,  floors,  etc.  In  land  measure  the  are  is  the  unit,  and 
is  equal  to  a  square  decameter;  the  square  meter  is  called  the  cen- 
"tare,  one  hundred  square  meters  the  are,  and  ten  thousand  square 
meters  the  hectare  (2.471  acres),  which  is  used  like  the  acre. 

Cubic  Measure. —  Cubic  measure  is  constructed  in  the  same  way, 
remembering  that  a  cube  is  the  product  of  the  length,  width,  and 
height;  a  cubic  centimeter  would  be  a  cube  measuring  ten  millimeters 
each  way  and  would  contain  1,000  cubic  millimeters.  Hence — the 
following:  — 

1,000  cu.  millimeters  equal  i  cu.  centimeter. 

1,000  cu.  centimeters  equal  i  cu.  decimeter. 

1,000  cu.  decimeters  equal  i  cu.  meter. 

1,000  cu.  meters  equal  i  cu.  decameter. 

1,000  cu.  decameters  equal  i  cu.  hectometer. 

1,000  cu,  hectometers  equal  i  cu.  kilometer. 

The  unit  is  the  cubic  meter,  which,  like  the  cubic  yard,  is  used  in 
measuring  embankments,  excavations,  etc.,  cubic  centimeters  and  mil¬ 
limeters  are  used  for  minute  bodies. 

Measures  of  Capacity.  —  Measures  of  capacity  are  based  on  the 
cubic  meter,  but  as  the  cubic  meter  would  be  too  large  and  unwieldy 
for  ordinary  purposes,  the  cubic  decimeter  was  adopted  as  the  unit, 
and  the  name  liter  was  given  to  it.  The  liter  is  equal  to  1.0567 
quarts,  and  is  used  like  the  quart  or  gallon,  multiples  forming  the 
larger,  and  decimal  parts  the  smaller  denominations,  as  follows:  — 

10  milliliters  equal  i  centiliter. 

10  centiliters  “  i  deciliter, 

10  deciliters  “  i  liter. 

10  liters  “  I  decaliter, 

10  decaliters  “  i  hectoliter. 

10  hectoliters  “  i  kiloliter. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


218 


Metric  Weights. —  The  unit  of  weight  is  the  gram  (15.432  grains), 
and  is  the  weight  of  a  cubic  centimeter  of  water  at  its  greatest  den¬ 
sity —  about  39°  F. 

Metric  Weights. —  Milligram  (y-oVo'  gi'am)  equals  0.0154  grn.  Cen¬ 
tigram  (y^y  gram)  equals  0.1543  grn.  Decigram  gram)  equals 
0.5432  grn.  Gram  equals  15.432  grns. 

Decagram  (10  grams)  equals  0.3527  oz. 

Hectogram  (100  grams)  equals  3.5274  ozs. 

Kilogram  (1,000  grams)  equals  2.2046  lbs. 

Myriagram  (10,000  grams)  equals  22.046  lbs. 

Quintal  (100,000  grams)  equals  220.46  lbs. 

Millier  or  tonnea  —  ton  (1,000,000  grams)  equals  2,204.6  lbs. 

Metric  Dry  Measures. —  Milliliter  (yyyy  liter)  equals  0.061  cu.  in. 
Centiliter  (yyy  liter)  equals  0.6102  cu.  in. 

Deciliter  (Jy  liter)  equals  6.1022  cu.  ins. 

Liter  equals  0.908  qt. 

Decaliter  (10  liters)  equals  9.28  qts. 

Hectoliter  (100  liters)  equals  2.838  bus. 

Kiloliter  (1,000  liters)  equals  1,308  cu.  yd. 

Metric  Liquid  Measures. —  Milliliter  (yyyy  liter)  equals  0.0338 
fluid  oz. 

Centiliter  (y-^y  liter)  equals  0.338  fluid  oz. 

Deciliter  (y^y  liter)  equals  0.845 
Liter  equals  1.0567  qts. 

Decaliter  (10  liters)  equals  2.6418  gals. 

Hectoliter  (100  liters)  equals  26.417  gals. 

Kiloliter  (1,000  liters)  equals  264.18  gals, 

Metric  Measures  of  Length. —  Millimeter  (yyyy  meter)  equals 
0.0394  in. 

Centimeter  (yiy  meter)  equals  0.3937  in. 

Decimeter  (y^y  meter)  equals  3.937  ins. 

Meter  equals  39.37  ins. 

Decameter  (10  meters)  equals  393.7  ins. 

Hectometer  (100  meters)  equals  328  ft.  i  in. 

Kilometer  (1,000  meters)  equals  0.62137  (3,280  feet  10  ins). 

Myriameter  (10,000  meters)  equals  6.2137  mis. 

Metric  Surface  Measures. —  Centare  (i  sq.  meter)  equals  1,550 
sq.  ins. 

Are  (100  sq.  meters)  equals  119.6  sq.  yds. 

Hectare  (10,000  sq.  meters)  equals  2.471  acres. 

The  above  tables  were  prepared  by  the  Philadelphia  Metric  Com¬ 
mercial  Museum. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


219 


This  Metric  Rule  =  a  decimeter.  The  10  divi.sions  are  centimeters.  The  small  sub-divisions  are  millimeters. 


TABLES  AND  FOREIGN  COINS.— 


Square  or  Surface  Measure. 

Long  Measure. 

Dry  Measure. 

Ale  and  Beer. 

144  sq.  ins . i  sq.  ft. 

9  sq.  ft . I  sq.  yd. 

305^  sq.  yds.  i  rod, 

pole,  or  perch. 

40  rods . I  rood. 

4  roods,  or  4,840 

sq.  yds.  i  acre. 
640  acres . i  sq.  mile. 

3  barleycorns  i  inch. 

12  inches  .  .  i  foot. 

3  feet  ...  I  yard. 
5^4  yards  i  rod, 

pole,  or  perch, 

40  poles  .  .  I  fur. 

8  furlongs,  or 

1,760yds.  I  mile. 

3  miles  .  ”.  I  league. 

4  gills  .  . 

2  pints  .  . 

2  quarts 

4  quarts 

2  gallons  . 

4  pecks 

8  bushels 

.  I  pint. 

.  I  quart. 

.  I  pottle. 

.  I  gallon. 

.  I  peck. 

.  I  bushel. 

.  I  quarter. 

2  pints  .  I  quart. 

4  quarts  .  i  gallon. 

9  gallons  .  I  firkin. 

36  gallons  .  I  barrel, 
barrels  .  i  hogshead. 

2  barrels  .  i  puncheon. 

3  barrels  .  i  butt. 

Solid  or  Cubic  Measure. 

Sizes  of  Printing  Paper. 

1728  inches  i  solid  foot. 
27  feet  I  yard  or  load. 

Demy 

Medium 

Royal 

.  22j^  X  17H 

.  23  X  18 

.  25  X  20 

Dble.  Flscp. 
Super  Royal 
Dble.  Crown 

27  X  17 
27J4x  20^ 
30  X  20 

Imperial 
Dble.  Demy 
Dble.  Royal 

30  X 
35  X 
40  X 

22 

22% 

25 

Foreign  Coins  —  The  English  EquivALENxs. 


Countries. 


Foreign  Coins. 


English 

Equivalents. 


Countries. 


Foreign  Coins. 


English 

Equivalents. 


Argentine 

Republic. . . 

Austria- 

Hungary 

Belgium . 

Brazil . 

Bulgaria . 


Chile . 

China  . . ... . 

Costa  Rica 
Denmark  . 


Peso  Nacional 
(Gold) 

Krone  . 

Gulden  . 

Franc . 

Milreis . 

I<ew . 

Peso  Fuerte, 
prior  to  1898. 
Peso  Fuerte  in 
1898. 

Haikwan  Tael 

Peso  (Gold) . . . 
Krone  . 


Kgypt 


Iv.  Egyptian 
( 100  Piastres) 
Piastre  . 


Finland 
France  . 


German 

Empire 

Greece . 


Mark  (100 
Penni) 

Franc  (25  to^) 

Sous  (5c.)  . 

10  centimes. . . . 

Mark . 

Krone . 

Doppel  Krone 
Drachma . 


Hayti  .. 
Holland 

India  . . 


Gourde 

Gulden 

Rupee 

Anna. . 


s. 

d. 

0 

4 

0 

0 

0 

10 

or 

24 

to  the  £ 

0 

I 

8 

or 

12 

to  the  £ 

0 

0 

9iiy 

0 

2 

3 

0 

0 

9TiJ 

or 

25  to  the  £ 

0 

3 

2 

0 

I 

6 

0 

6 

8 

(Par  value) 


040 
o  I  I  j 
or  18  to  the 
I  o 

0  o  2.46 
97^  Piastres  to 
the  2 
o  o  9ig 
or  25  to  the  ^ 
o  o  91*^ 

h 

franc 
010 
0  10  o 
100 

O  O  9i®(y 

or  25  to  the  £ 
040 
018 
or  12  to  the  ^ 
020 
worth  I  2^ 
o  o 


Italy . 

Japan . • 

Mexico . ■ 

Morocco . 

Norway . 

Paraguay . 

Peru . 

Portugal . 

Porto  Rico.... 
Rumania . 

Russia . ^ 

Servia . . 

Spain . 

Sweden . 

Switzerland. . . 

Tonkin . 

Turkey . . . 

United  States 

Uruguay  . 

Venezuela . 


Eira . 

Yen,  prior  to 
October,  1897. 
Yen,  from  Oct., 
1897  (Gold) 
Dollar  (Gold) 

“  (Silver) 

Once . 

Krone  . 

Peso . 

Sol . 

Milreis . 

Peso . 

Eeu . 

Credit  Rouble 
Rouble  (Gold) 

Kopeck . 

Dinar  . 

Peseta . 

Krona . 

Franc  . 

Piastre  (Silver) 
Piastre  . 


Dollar . 

Cent . 

Dime . 

Peso  Fuerte... 
Bolivar . 


£  s-  d. 
o  o  9i«^ 
or  25  to  the  £ 
040 
(  Par  value.) 
o  2  oi 

042 
020 
005^ 
o  I  I J 
or  18  to  the  £ 
040 

040 

046 

026 

o  o  9i®ij 
or  25  to  the  £ 
020 
032 
000^ 
o  o  9i8(j 
or  25  to  the  £ 
o  o  9i®fr 
or  25  to  the  £ 
O  I  I3 
or  18  to  the  £ 
o  o  9,85 
or  25  to  the  £ 
046 
o  o  2.16 
or  TOO  Piastres 
equal  i8j. 
042 
o  o  oj 
00s 
042 
o  o  9io 
or  25  to  the  £ 


Note. — The  equivalents  are  not  in  all  cases  the  exact  equivalents  of  the  exchange  of  the  day,  but 
rates  which  are  convenient  for  comparisons  over  long  periods.  This  applies  especially  to  those  countries 
with  inconvertible  paper  currencies. 


220 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


ENGLISH  AND  FOREIGN  WEIGHTS.— 


standard  Troy  Weight. 

4  grains  .  i  carat. 

6  carats  .  i  dwt. 

20  dwt.  .  I  ounce. 
12  ounces  .  i  pound. 
25  pounds  .  I  quarter. 
ino  pounds  ,  i  cwl. 

20  cwt.  .  I  ton. 
Jewelers  and  Silver¬ 
smiths  use  this  table. 


Avoirdupois  Weight. 

16  drams  .  i  ounce, 

16  ounces  .  i  pound. 
14  pounds  .  I  stone. 

28  pounds  .  I  quarter. 
4  qrs.  or  1 12  ft)  i  cwt. 

20  cwt.  .  .  I  ton. 

Used  by  Chemists. 


Coai  Weight. 

14  pounds  .  I  stone. 

28  “  .1  qtr.cwt. 

56  “  .1  half  cwt. 

I  sack  112ft).  I  cwt. 

20  cwt.  .  .  I  ton. 

This  is  the  compulsory 
weight  for  coal. 


Apothecaries  Weight. 

20  grains  .  i  scruple. 
3  scruples  ,  i  dram. 

8  drams  .  i  ounce 
12  ounces  .  i  pound. 

Fluid  Measure. 

60  minims,  i  flu.  dram. 

8  drams  .  i  flu.  ounce. 
20  flu.  oz.  .  I  pint. 

8  pints  .  I  gallon. 


Foreign  Weights. 


English  Equivalents. 


Austria-Hungary,  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  France,  Finland,  Ger¬ 
many,  Holland,  Italy,  Norway,  Portugal,  Rumania, 
Servia,  Spain,  Sweden,  and  Switzerland. 


Metre  . . . 

Kilometre . 

Square  kilometre., . 

Cub.  metre . 

Are . 

Hectare . . 

Kilogramme . 

Quintal,  metrique . 

Centner  “  (double 
centner) 

Tonneau  (coals) . 

Hectolitre  (liquid 
measure) 

Hectolitre  (cereals,  etc.) 
China. 


Tael  (weight). 

Catty . 

Picul  . 

Ts'un  . 

Ch‘ih . 

Chang . 

u . 


Denmark. 


Dansk  mil.... 

Geo.  mil. ...... 

Geo.  sq.  mil. . , 
Tondeland  . . . . 

'Tonde  (corn), 
“  (coal) . 
“  (beer). 

Fund . 

Pot . 


Egypt. 


Oke  . . . 
Cantar 


1.09  yard. 

0.621  of  a  mile. 

0.386  of  a  square  mile. 
1.308  cubic  yards. 
0.0247  acres. 

2.47  “  _ 

2.204  avoirdupois. 

|>  220.4  “  “ 

2.204  “  “ 

22  Imperial  gallons. 

2.75  Imperial  bushels. 


1.33  oz. 

1.33  ft)  avoirdupois. 

I- 333  avoirdupois. 

1. 41  inches. 

1.175  feet. 

II- 75  “ 

2.115  “ 


4.68  miles. 

4.61  miles. 

21.195  square  miles. 

1.36  acres. 

3.8  Imperial  bushels. 
4.6775  bushels. 

28.92  Imperial  gallons. 
1. 102  It)  avoirdupois. 
0.213  of  an  Imp.  gallon. 


2.75136  ft)  avoirdupois. 
99.05  ft)  avoirdupois. 


Foreign  Weights. 


English  Equivalents. 


Ardeb  of  wheat  (118 
okes) 

Ardeb  of  maize  (118 
okes) 

Ardeb  barley  (88  okes). 
“  rice  (152  okes).. 

Greece. 

Ocque . 

Quintal . 

Uivre . 

Drachme . 


Japan. 

Ri . 

Square  ri . 

Tch6  (long  measure). 
Tch6  (land  measure). 

Ken . 

Tsubo . 

Kcku  (liquid) . 

“  (dry)  . 

Sho  (liquid) . 

“  (dry) . 

Kwau . 


Russia. 

Verste . 

Sq.  verste..... 

Pood . 

Berkovets . 

Tchetvert ..... 
Dessiatine  .... 
Vedro  . 


United  States. 


Bushel  (Winchester) 


Gallon  (Old  English) 


Barrel  of  flour. 

Short  ton . 

Eong  ton . 


324.6  ft)  avoirdupois. 
324.6  “  “ 


242.6 

418.3 


fti 

it 


2.84  ft)  avoirdupois. 
123.2  “  “ 

1. 1  “ 

I  of  an  ounce. 


2.4403  miles. 

5.9552  square  miles 
5.4229  chains. 

2.4507  acres. 

1.9884  yards. 

3.9538  square  yards. 
39-7033  gallons. 

4.9629  bushels. 

1.5881  quarts. 

0.1985  pecks. 

8.2817  ft)  avoirdupois. 


0.663  of  a  mile. 

0.44  of  a  square  mile. 
36  ft)  avoirdupois. 

360  “ 

5.77  Imperial  bushels. 
2.7  acres. 

2.7  Imperial  gallons. 


0.9694  of  Imperial 
bushel,  or  33  Winches¬ 
ter  bushels  =  32  Im¬ 
perial  bushels. 

0.883  of  an  Imperial 
gallon,  or  6  United 
States  gallons  =  5  Im¬ 
perial  gallons. 

196  ft)  avoirdupois. 

2,000  lb  avoirdupois. 

2,240  “  “ 


Tare. —  Allowance  in  weight  or  quantity  on  account  of  cash,  bag, 


or  covering. 


TA  R I  F  P 

The  word  tariff  is  probably  derived  from  Tarifa,  a  town  in  Spain, 
where,  while  the  Moors  ruled,  all  vessels  passing  through  the  strait 
near  by  were  obliged  to  pay  duties  to  the  governing  'chiefs.  Marine 
taxes  had,  however,  been  exacted  long  before.  Tariffs  not  unlike  ours 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


221 


were  imposed  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  England,  in  the  nth 
century,  levied  duties  on  ships  and  cargoes.  In  1663,  during  the  reign 
of  Charles  IL,  a  regular  schedule  of  rates  was  enforced.  After  1846 
the  tendency  in  England  was  toward  free  trade.  The  corn  laws  were 
abolished,  and  in  1892  less  than  20  articles  paid  revenue  duties.  The 
first  Federal  Congress  in  the  U.  S.  enacted  a  tariff  law  that  averaged 
below  8  per  cent,  ad  valorem  duties  on  imports.  The  bill  became  a 
law,  but  was  in  the  nature  of  a  compromise,  as  a  majority  of  the 
Southern  States  favored  a  lower  rate  while  New  England  and  Va. 
favored  a  higher  one,  though  not  so  high  as  Pa.  advocated, —  12  per 
cent.  The  tariff  of  1816  was  distinctly  in  the  direction  of  protection, 
for  in  the  face  of  protests  from  the  agricultural  section  of  the  South, 
it  advanced  the  tariff  to  about  25  per  cent,  on  many  important  articles 
of  manufactures.  In  1824  there  were  further  increases.'  Early  in  1828 
the  tariff  of  abominations,^^  as  its  opponents  called  it,  was  introduced 
in  the  House.  It  embraced  the  recommendations  of  a  national  con¬ 
vention  of  manufacturers  held  at  Philadelphia,  and  increased  the  rate 
to  41  per  cent.  This  tariff  was  advocated  by  Daniel  Webster,  who  in 
1824  had  favored  a  low  tariff.  S.  C.  was  foremost  in  the  opposition 
and  denounced  the  proposed  tariff  as  unconstitutional,  unjust,  and 
oppressive.  N.  C.  took  a  similar  position,  and  Ala.  and  Ga.  declared 
that  Congress  had  no  constitutional  power  to  lay  duties  for  protection. 
To  appease  the  dissatisfied.  President  Jackson,  in  1832,  signed  a  bill 
reducing  the  duty  on  iron,  increasing  the  tax  on  woolens,  allowing 
certain  raw  materials  to  enter  free,  and  leaving  cotton  as  it  was. 
The  bill,  however,  retained  the  protective  feature  of  the  tariff  of  1828, 
and  S.  C.  went  so  far  as  to  attempt  to  nullify  this  act  by  an  ordi¬ 
nance  which  was  repealed  after  the  compromise  tariff  of  1833.  Clay 
introduced  the  latter  measure  which  provided  for  a  gradual  scaling 
of  duties  until  the  minimum  and  uniform  rate  had  been  reached  in 
1842.  In  that  year  the  Whigs  were  in  control  of  both  Houses  of  Con¬ 
gress,  and  they  enacted  a  protective  tariff,  which  the  Democratic 
President  Tyler  vetoed.  The  law  of  1846,  better  known  as  the  Walker 
tariff,  made  the  principle  of  protection  secondary  to  that  of  revenue. 
It  passed  both  Houses,  but  in  the  Senate  it  required  the  casting  vote 
of  Vice-president  Dallas.  It  lowered  the  average  duty  to  about  25 
per  cent.,  and  this  was  further  reduced  in  1857  to  20  per  cent.  By 
the  Morrill  tariff  act  of  1861,  a  protective  revenue  measure,  the  rates 
of  1857  were  increased  about  33  per  cent.  As  the  Civil  War  pro¬ 
ceeded,  the  tariff  was  repeatedly  raised,  money  urgently  needed  was 
realized,  and  manufacturing  was  greatly  stimulated.  The  war  tariff 
remained  in  force  long  after  1865.  In  1882  a  tariff  commission 
visited  different  sections  of  the  country  for  data  on  which  to  base  a 


222 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


recommendation  for  a  reduction  in  rates.  The  commission  suggested 
a  cut  of  20  per  cent.  President  Cleveland,  in  his  message  to  Congress 
of  Dec.,  1885,  favored  a  reduction,  and  in  1889  he  made  it  the  sole 
subject  of  his  message.  The  Mills  bill,  in  which  the  President’s  views 
were  incorporated,  passed  the  House,  but  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 
The  51st  Congress,  by  the  McKinley  bill,  raised  the  duties  to  an  aver¬ 
age  of  about  48  per  cent.  The  Wilson  bill,  a  low-tariff  measure  with 
an  income  tax  provision,  which  was  later  declared  unconstitutional, 
became  a  law  without  the  President’s  signature  in  1894,  and  in  1897 
the  present  Dingley  protective  tariff  went  into  effect.  (See  McKin¬ 
ley,  William.) 

Tenants. —  Those  who  lease  or  rent  real  estate. 

Tenants  in  Common. —  Those  who  hold  property  in  common,  i.  e., 
by  distinct  titles  and  not  as  joint  tenants. 

Testator. —  One  who  has  made  a  will;  feminine  form  is  testatrix. 


TOUCH  TYPEWRITING 

The  use  by  nearly  all  standard  machines  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Universal  Keyboard  has  made  it  possible  to  teach  the  principles 
of  typewriting  by  the  touch  method  in  such  a  way  that  the  pupil  who 
has  mastered  them  on  one  machine  can  easily  adapt  them  to  the  use 
of  any  other  of  the  universal  boards. 

The  student’s  work  should  be  undertaken  on  a  firm  resolve  to 
follow  directions  carefully,  and  to  practise  faithfully  every  lesson.  The 
first  thought  must  be  of  accuracy,  without  which  the  highest  rate  of 
speed  will  count  for  naught.  For  the  student’s  encouragement  he 
should  remember  that  a  rate  of  thirty  words  per  minute  in  continuous 
writing  is  equal  to  one  of  sixty  words  per  minute  when  the  hands 
stop  for  half  of  the  time  while  the  eyes  are  on  the  copy. 

The  first  step  is  to  learn,  from  the  book  of  directions  which  accom¬ 
panies  every  machine,  the  uses  of  all  the  principal  parts  of  the  style  of 
machine  to  be  used.  Every  operator  should  know  the  mechanical  con¬ 
struction  of  his  machine  so  well  as  to  detect  immediately  the  slightest 
disorder,  and  to  be  able  to  adjust  the  simpler  parts.  Proper  care  of  the 
machine,  cleaning  and  oiling,  are  easily  learned  from  the  book  of 
directions.  Only  the  best  oil  should  ever  be  used  on  a  typewriter, 
and  the  machine  must  be  kept  closely  covered  when  not  in  use.  The 
type  are  cleaned  with  a  brush,  and  should  never  be,  touched  with  a 
pin.  When  the  brush  is  not  sufficient,  benzine  should  be  applied. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


223 


A  copyholder  which  holds  the  chart,  exercise,  or  notebook,  above 
the  machine,  and  directly  in  front  of  the-  eyes,  is  by  far  the  best. 
With  its  use  the  student  naturally  maintains  a  healthful,  erect  position, 
and  a  much  less  fatiguing  one  than  that  of  bending  over  to  look 
downward  at  the  copy.  A  better  light  also  can  usually  be  had  on 
the  copy  in  this  position  than  when  it  is  lower  than  the  machine. 

The  operator  should  sit  at  such  a  height  that,  when  the  fingers 
rest  on  the  keyboard,  the  forearm  is  horizontal. 

The  starting  point  of  the  hands  on  the  keyboard  is  the  middle 
row,  on  which  the  fingers  should  be  plaeed  as  follows:  — 

4321  1234 

asdfghjkl  ; 

An  exact  chart  of  this  row  of  keys  —  one  which  the  student  can 
easily  make  for  himself  —  is  placed  on  the  copyholder,  and  the  positions 
of  the  letters  are  learned  from  this,  and  not  by  looking  at  the  keys. 
The  forefingers  must  strike  g  and  h  as  well  as  f  and  j.  This  does 
not  cause  eonfusion,  as  it  is  easy  to  know  whether  one  of  these 
fingers  is  striking  the  key  next  the  one  oecupied  by  the  third  finger, 
or  whether  it  is  reaching  over  one  key  to  touch  the  next.  Keys  to 
the  right  or  left  of  a  and  /  vary  in  number,  and  in  the  signs  repre¬ 
sented,  on  different  machines,  and  will  be  considered  later. 

On  all  machines  the  spacing  is  done  with  the  thumbs.  It  is 
evident  to  the  one  who  thinks  for  a  moment,  that  taking  the 
fingers  from  the  board  for  this  purpose  would  waste  the  time 
otherwise  gained  by  touch  writing.  On  double  keyboards,  and  on 
the  shift-boards  that  have  shift  keys  at  both  sides,  the  work  is  so 
nearly  the  same  for  each  hand  that  the  spacing  is  divided  between 
the  thumbs,  and  the  one  that  is  nearest  the  space  bar  at  the  time 
should  be  used.  On  shift  machines  that  have  shift  keys  at  the  left 
only,  the  right  thumb  should  do  the  work  of  spacing,  as  all  the  shift¬ 
ing  then  falls  to  the  left  hand. 

With  eyes  fixed  steadily  on  the  ehart,  write  the  letters  of  the 
middle  row  in  their  order  from  left  to  right,  without  spaeing  between 
the  letters,  as  asdfghjkl;  give  a  quick,  light  stroke,  and  do  not  hold 
the  keys  down.  Train  the  fingers  to  strike  with  uniform  force. 

When  several  rows  of  the  letters  in  order  have  been  made,  call 
them  at  random,  and  find  the  keys.  Writing  them  in  their  order  in 
the  row  beeomes  meehanical,  and  the  student  should  test  his 
knowledge  of  their  positions  by  calling  them  in  various  orders,  and 
finding  their  keys  promptly. 

When  this  row  has  been  written  until  the  fingers  have  aequired 


224 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


an  even  toucli,  and  each  letter  is  easily  found,  several  lines  each  of 
the  following  words  may  be  written:  — 


as 

sad 

alas 

falk 

lags 

ah 

sag 

asks 

fall 

slash 

la 

fad 

sags 

gash 

flash 

ash 

gas 

sash 

gads 

falls 

ask 

has 

slag 

half 

salad 

add 

had 

skag 

hall 

shall 

aha 

jag 

dash 

lass 

alfalfa 

all 

lag 

If  one  hand  is  found  more  difficult  to  control  than  the  other,  it 
should  be  given  special  work  on  words  that  are  written  all  or  mostly 
with  that  hand. 

The  third  bank  of  keys  is  our  next  lesson.  The  fingers  must  be 
brought  up  to  this  row  as  needed  to  strike  the  keys;  but,  when  not 
in  use,  the  fourth  fingers  are  kept  on  a  and  / .  It  is  necessary  to 
have  at  all  times  a  definite  starting  point,  that  the  fingers  may  know 
in  which  direction  to  reach  for  a  given  letter. 

43  21  1234 

qwertyuiop 

The  copy  is  now  a  chart  which  shows  the  middle  or  second,  and 
the  third,  rows.  Follow  explicitly  on  this  row  the  directions  given 
for  the  third,  and  practise  until  the  letters  can  be  found  instantly  in 
any  order  called. 


we 

top 

tree 

write 

pretty 

to 

ire 

trio 

route 

require 

it 

out 

tire 

troupe 

twitter 

wit 

pet 

your 

utter 

pottery 

ere 

quit 

peep 

equity 

property 

eye 

were 

pyre 

repute 

etiquette 

rue 

wire 

quiet 

totter 

territory 

two 

ripe 

It  is  encouraging  to  note 

at 

this  point  the  greater 

ease 

with  which 

the  letters  of 

this 

row  are  ! 

learned,  and  the 

more  uniform  action  of 

the  fingers,  than  when  beginning  the  first  row. 

The  following  words  combine 

letters  of  the 

second 

and 

third  rows. 

These  should 

be 

practised 

very  thoroughly. 

to  train 

the 

fingers  to 

move  easily 

from 

one  row 

to 

the  other,  before  the  lower  row  is 

studied. 

adage 

alert 

gurgle 

what 

frigate 

eager 

father 

thoughtful 

kaiser 

after 

kodak 

quarter 

sirloin 

wrinkle 

worthy 

adieu 

radius 

height 

dictator 

egotist 

editor 

arrogate 

usually 

daily 

daughter 

legality 

future 

BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


225 


Examine  each  sheet  of  your  work  with  the  utmost  care,  and  strive 
to  avoid  any  faults  that  it  may  show.  Patient  and  faithful  work  at 
this  stage  of  the  student’s  progress  will  yield  him  rich  returns  in  all 
of  his  later  work. 

The  chart  will  now  show  the  first,  or  lower,  row.  The  three  keys 
at  the  right  are  rarely  the  same  on  two  styles  of  machine. 

zxcvbnm,.  ? 


The  student  will  write  as 

may  appear  on 

his  machine,  from  left 

to  right,  etc. 

Since  words 

cannot  be  made  of  the  letters  at  hand,  it  is  neces- 

sary  to  draw  for 

vowels  on  the  other  rows,  using  only  consonants  of 

the  first  row. 

cob 

men 

bin 

move 

bone 

vim 

numb 

vane 

mamma 

mix 

box 

cove 

mum 

above 

oven 

vex 

boom 

buzz 

ox 

moan 

bomb 

main 

canna 

beam 

Remember  to 

touch  the  keys  with  only  sufficient 

force  to  make  a 

distinct  impression.  Turn  the  sheets  over  and  see  if  the  impress  of 

the  letters  shows 

on  the  under  side;  if  so,  the 

keys  have  been  struck 

too  hard. 

The  words  below  give  practice  on  passing  the 

hands  from  the 

lower  to  the  middle,  and  the 

middle  to  the  lower  rows:  — 

cash 

bask 

mammal 

sack 

jamb 

call 

bag 

mash 

fan 

clash 

cask 

blanch 

abash 

ham 

flax 

chasm 

back 

nag 

knack 

blank 

This  exercise 

combines  letters  of  the  first 

and  third  rows,  and  is 

excellent  practice 

:  — 

quiz 

concrete 

battery 

prime 

even 

mixture 

never 

quiver 

tremor 

metric 

crown 

broom 

improve 

better 

cr^'pt 

brine 

We  are  now 

ready  to  use  the  letters  of  all  the 

three  rows,  and 

words  are  easily  found.  The 

following  are  good,  and 

the  student  can 

extend  the  list  at  pleasure:  — 

attract 

exchange 

miller 

quaver 

meadow 

big 

quorum 

marry 

narrative  brought 

swim 

varnish 

plover 

blossom 

wax 

trivial 

eliminate 

click 

narrow 

rock 

gravity 

dome 

wonder 

belong 

flavor 

secure 

extricate 

advise 

dive 

cringe 

omnivorous 

preliminary 

captivate 

weavil 

marine 

ird 

zebra 

nimble 

cough 

prairie 

Vol.  XIII— 15 


226 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


A  chart  of  the  full  board  may  now  be  used, —  capitals,  figures,  and 
all  other  marks. 

On  the  double  keyboard  the  capitals  are  found  in  the  same  rela¬ 
tive  positions  as  were  the  small  letters.  After  making  a  few  rows  of 
these,  to  accustom  the  hands  to  the  different  position  on  the  key¬ 
board,  write, 

Aa  Ss  Dd  Ff  Gg  Hh  Jj  Kk  LI  Qq  Ww  Ee  Rr  Tt  Yy  Uu  li  Oo  Pp 

Zz  Xx  Cc  Vv  Bb  Nn  Mm 


On  the  shift  machines,  the  only  point  to  learn  in  making  capitals 
or  other  upper  case  characters  is  the  proper  manipulation  of  the  shift 
keys.  In  touch  writing  the  little  fingers  only  can  be  used  on  the 
shift  keys,  and  with  a  little  practise  they  readily  do  this  work.  On  a 
board  that  has  a  shift  key  at  each  side,  the  work  is  divided  between 
the  two  little  fingers,  the  left  one  being  used  when  the  right  hand  is 
to  strike  the  type  key,  and  the  right  one  when  the  left  hand  is  to  be 
used  on  the  type  key. 

On  the  boards  which  have  one  or  more  shift  keys  at  the  left  only, 
the  left  little  finger  must  do  all  the  shifting,  and  the  right  thumb 
then  does  the  spacing.  A  shift  key  must  be  held  firmly  until  the  de¬ 
sired  letter  has  been  made,  and  released  promptly  when  a  small  letter 
is  to  be  made. 


Europe 

Brighton 

Alps 

Philippines 

North  American  Review 
Harvard  University 


Raleigh 

Homer 

Leigh 

President  Grigg 
London  Times 
Adjutant  General  Howard 


South  America  ' 

Great  Eastern 
Niagara  Falls 
United  States  Senator 
Daily  Eagle 
Don  Quixote 


On  the  upper  row  of  keys,  which  vary  so  widely  with  different 
machines,  the  student  will  easily  apply  the  principles  taught  and  illus¬ 
trated  for  the  other  rows. 

The  keys  at  the  sides  of  the  board,  beyond  those  that  have  been 
learned,  must  be  struck  with  the  little  finger,  in  order  to  keep  the 
hands  as  nearly  as  possible  in  their  prescribed  positions. 

There  seems  to  be  no  especial  order  in  learning  the  punctuation 
marks.  Some  have  been  learned  by  this  time  from  their  positions  in 
the  rows  with  the  small  letters.  The  others  should  be  practised,  and 
when  they  are  thoroughly  familiar,  the  exercises  may  be  used. 


U.  S.  Oh!  How?  non-union  <<  Now,^^  said  he.  Hudson’s  (Aside.)  We  quote: 
Man  proposes;  God  disposes. 

Figures  are  next  in  order,  and  may  be  best  learned 

0123456789 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


^27 

Perhaps  more  annoying  and  dangerous  mistakes  occur  in  striking 
the  wrong  figure  than  in  making  wrong  letters.  For  this  reason  the 
student  should  give  himself  a  thorough  drill  in  their  use. 

123321  102534  901201  510435  5280  53  876  425970 

12357308  6750320  76  100020  430053  105  1776 


The  remaining  characters  may  form  one  lesson,  and  complete  the 
study  of  the  keyboard;  — 


$500  8  34  25%  @34^  *  *  *  No,  no. 


A  space  should  always  follow  a  comma,  semicolon,  and  colon;  three 
spaces,  a  period,  interrogation,  or  exclamation  point. 

Any  matter  may  now  be  used  for  practice.  The  forms  of  legal 
papers  give  excellent  drill;  actual  business  letters  should  be  copied, 
matter  containing  many  figures,  names,  addresses,  etc. 

Some  practice  should  be  had  each  day  in  taking  dictation  directly 
on  the  machine. 

In  all  writing,  note  carefully  the  marginal  spacing,  making  it  per¬ 
fectly  even  at  the  left,  and  as  nearly  so  as  the  correct  division  of 
words  will  admit,  on  the  right.  The  width  of  the  margins  differs; 
but  on  legal,  and  business-letter,  size,  from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a 
half  should  be  allowed  at  the  left,  with  a  little  less  at  the  right,  and 
at  the  bottom  of  the  page. 


In  the  Circuit  Court  of  Broivne  County.,  Kentitcky May  Terjji.,  iSgej.. 

J.  M.  Johnson,  Plaintiffs  ) 

vs.  y  Motion  to  Set  Aside  Sheriff  Sale. 

B.  W.  Morrow,  Defendant .  ) 


In  the  Circuit  Court  of  Browne  County ^  Ky.j  September  Ternis  1888. 

State  Ex.  Rcl.  W.  E.  Mallory,  Plaintiffs 

vs. 

H.  J,  Con  NOR,  R.  B.  Briggs,  and 

S.  V.  Smith,  Defendants. 


V  Petition  for  Mandamus. 


Beginning  at  a  point  three  hundred  and  sixteen  (316)  feet  north 
of  the  northwest  corner  of  Block  fifty-two  (52)  in  the  town  of  Salem, 
Pennsylvania,  thence  east  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  (125)  feet, 
thence  south  sixty  (60)  feet,  thence  west  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
(125)  feet,  thence  north  sixty  (60)  feet  to  the  place  of  beginning. 


Trad^  Discount.  —  An  allowance  made  to  dealers  in  the  same  line. 


228 


THE  LAST  QUARTER  OF  A  CENTURY’S  TRADE 

EXPANSION 


By  WILLIAM  F.  KING 
President  of  the  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York 

NO  PORTION  of  the  history  of  the  United  States  will  be 
read  by  future  generations  with  greater  wonder 
than  that  in  which  is  recorded  the  story  of  the 
marvelous  growth  and  expansion  of  our  commercial  in¬ 
terests  during  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  just 
closed.  The  story  is  as  fascinating  as  any  that  ever  fell 
from  the  pen  of  a  Balzac  or  a  Dumas,  and  has,  moreover, 
the  additional  charm  of  truth. 

Previous  to  the  Civil  War,  which  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  era  of  our  commercial  supremacy,  the  growth  of 
the  country  was  slow.  The  people,  by  the  hardest  work, 
dug  their  living  from  the  soil  and  were  compelled  to 
rely  upon  themselves  for  nearly  all  the  necessities  of  life, 
even  making  their  clothes  on  the  old-fashioned  wooden  loom.  They 
thought  slowly,  and  took  a  week  to  do  what  is  now  accomplished  in 
a  day.  The  man  who  could  give  his  wife  a  new  silk  dress  each  year  was 
regarded  as  ^Svell  off,^^  while  a  fortune  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  seemed 
as  great  as  three  million  dollars  now. 

It  was  the  day  of  the  small  shopkeeper,  whose  stock  of  goods  included, 
possibly,  two  or  three  bolts  of  silk,  imported  from  England  or  France,  a 
few  rolls  of  gaudy  calico,  some  white  sheeting,  and  a  few  other  staples, 
with  the  usual  pins,  needles,  and  thread.  Such  a  supply  was,  however, 
sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  people. 

The  outcome  of  the  war  was  a  new  era  of  expansion  and  speculation. 
Large  amounts  of  money  passed  into  circulation  and  Croesus-like  fortunes 
were  made.  The  abundance  of  money  caused  the  people  to  become  ex¬ 
travagant,  and  to  live  on  a  scale  of  magnificence  never  before  attempted 
in  America.  New  wants  were  created,  to  supply  which,  especially  in  the 
matter  of  dress  and  luxuries,  our  merchants  scoured  the  markets  of  the 
Old  World,  and  soon  saw  their  establishments  expanding  like  mushrooms 
under  their  very  eyes. 

Before  this  time  the  merchant  could  not  send  an  ofder  to  Europe  and 
have  it  executed  under  six  months’  time.  Sailing  vessels  were  the  only 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


229 


means  of  communication,  and  the  business  community  found  itself  ham¬ 
pered  in  all  directions  by  its  inability  to  quickly  secure  and  deliver 
goods. 

The  laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  the  establishing  of  telegraphic  lines, 
the  extension  of  the  railways,  and  the  general  introduction  of  steam 
vessels,  on  ocean  and  river,  brought  the  desired  relief.  Rapid  communi¬ 
cation  increased  a  hundredfold  the  dry-goods  merchants’  capacity  for 
handling  business.  The  lines  of  goods  in  stock  grew  so  rapidly  in  num¬ 
ber  that  merchants  were  frequently  forced  to  add  more  capital  to  their 
businesses,  in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  trade.  Small  shops,  in  the 
centers  of  trade,  expanded  into  the  modern  department  stores  before 
their  proprietors  themselves  fully  realized  the  change. 

The  wholesale  dry-goods  business  had  a  similar  evolution.  It  was 
not  so  many  years  ago  that  the  large  establishments  were  .confined  to 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  which  cities  did  nine-tenths  of  the 
business  of  the  country.  To-day,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  St. 
Joseph,  Kansas  City,  and  San  Francisco,  are  great  distributing  points, 
not  only  for  dry  goods,  but  for  merchandise  of  all  kinds. 

During  the  seven  years  following  the  close  of  the  war,  the  prices  of 
all  commodities  became  so  inflated  that  a  reaction  was  inevitable.  The 
panic  of  1873  swept  away  fortunes  as  a  flood-swollen  river  sweeps  away 
bridges  and  houses  before  it.  Fictitious  values  collapsed,  over-capital¬ 
ized  corporations  became  bankrupt,  and  small  businesses  were  wiped  out 
of  existence. 

The  panic  was  the  result  of  a  combination  of  causes.  There  had 
been  an  overproduction  of  manufactured  goods,  but  instead  of  an  in¬ 
creasing  demand  for  this  large  supply,  a  failure  of  crops  caused  it 
greatly  to  decrease.  Our  merchants  were  loaded  down  with  foreign 
goods  for  which  there  was  no  market.  This  state  of  depression  con¬ 
tinued  for  three  years,  during  which  time  soup-houses  were  opened  in 
New  York,  Boston,  and  other  large  cities,  to  feed  the  hungry  and  starving 
hordes  of  men,  women,  and  children,  for  whom  there  was  no  work.  There 
were  many  men,  however,  whose  pride  led  them  to  revolt  at  the  idea  of 
becoming  objects  of  charity.  What  they  wanted  was  work,  work  of  any 
kind  in  order  that  they  might  provide  for  their  families. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  William  E.  Dodge,  Anson  Phelps  Stokes, 
and  John  D.  Crimmins  came  forward,  in  New  York,  with  a  plan  to  aid 
the  needy.  These,  and  other  rich  men  who  owned  large  tracts  of  unim¬ 
proved  land  upon  the  upper  west  side  of  the  city,  set  hundreds,  and  even 
thousands,  of  men  at  work  to  grade  this  land  and  to  get  it  ready  for  the 
market.  The  employment  thus  given  was  sufficient  to  tide  many  over 
the  crisis.  A  turn  in  the  tide  came  in  1876,  with  the  holding  of  the  Cen¬ 
tennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia. 


230 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


No  one  who  passed  through  them  can  forget  the  horrors  of  those  few 
years.  A  vast  army  of  tramps  over-ran  the  country,  carrying  terror  like 
a  pestilence  in  their  wake.  Farmers  used  their  grain  for  fuel,  because  it 
was  cheaper  than  wood  or  coal.  Public  improvements  were  at  a  stand¬ 
still.  Under  the  hot  breath  of  adversity  many  industries  shriveled  and 
died.  The  harvests  of  Europe  had  been  abundant  and  the  workshops 
busy,  so  that,  for  a  time,  there  was  no  relief  in  that  direction  for  our  con¬ 
gested  markets. 

It  seems  strange,  does  it  not,  that  in  the  world’s  economy  we  some¬ 
times  profit  by  the  losses  and  afflictions  of  others  ?  The  great  famine  in 
India,  in  1876,  and  the  utter  failure  of  the  crops  in  Europe,  in  1877  and 
1878,  created  a  demand  for  our  surplus  stocks  of  grain  and  goods.  So 
quickly  did  we  recover  from  the  results  of  the  panic  that  the  year  1879 
saw  the  resumption  of  specie  payments. 

The  remarkable  development  of  the  railroads  of  this  country  since 
the  Civil  War  is  one  of  the  best  proofs  of  our  prosperity.  It  was  during 
the  speculative  period  following  that  event,  and  again  in  the  late  ’seven- 
ties  and  early  ’eighties,  that  the  distant  portions  of  Uncle  Sam’s  territory 
were  knit  together  by  chains  of  steel.  An  abundance  of  money  and  un. 
limited  credit  were  the  forces  that  stimulated  financiers  to  build  railroads 
across  wide  stretches  of  plain  and  desert,  over  the  peaks  of  the  Rockies, 
and  on  into  the  garden-lands  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  completion  of  the  Union  Pacific  showed  that  nature  had  reared 
no  barriers  that  American  skill  and  daring  could  not  surmount.  Then 
came  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  the  Santa  Fe,  the  Northern  Pacific,  and 
the  Southern  Pacific  lines  in  the  Far  West,  enterprises  that  called  for 
enormous  expenditures  of  money  and  brains.  In  the  meantime,  railroad 
building  was  progressing  in  the  East.  Feeders  to  trunk  lines  were  con¬ 
structed  and  absorbed  with  a  rapidity  that  was  astounding  to  visitors 
from  the  Old  World.  The  West  Shore,  paralleling  the  New  York  Cen¬ 
tral,  projected,  it  is  said,  for  the  purpose  of  embarrassing  that  corpor¬ 
ation,  was  built.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  steel  rails  that  the 
rolling  mills,  running  day  and  night,  could  not  meet  the  demand. 

It  was  found,  however,  that  railroad  building  was  being  overdone; 
that  lines  had  been  constructed  for  which  no  business  of  any  importance 
was  obtainable ;  that  many  stocks  and  bonds  that  had  been  floated  at  par 
were  worth  little  more  than  the  paper  on  which  they  were  printed. 
Some  of  the  roads  that  were  built  became  bankrupt  and  were  purchased 
by  the  trunk  lines  at  ridiculously  low  prices.  The  Hudson  River  Railroad, 
which  ran  from  New  York  to  Albany,  absorbed  the  New  York  Central, 
extending  from  Albany  to  Syracuse,  the  Syracuse  and  Rochester,  and 
other  roads,  until  it  owned  a  continuous  line  from  New  York  to  Buffalo. 
From  time  to  time,  feeders  were  purchased,  or  leased,  until  the  New 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


231 


York  Central,  as  it  is  now  called,  controls  a  trunk  line  to  Chicago.  The 
Pennsylvania  system  has  a  history  similar  to  this. 

This  consolidation  of  the  railroads  was  made  necessary  by  the  great 
expense  involved  in  their  equipment  and  operation.  The  weaker  com¬ 
peting  lines  were  forced  to  make  traffic  agreements  with  the  stronger 
lines,  or  to  go  out  of  business.  Between  1880  and  1884  many  roads  went 
into  the  hands  of  receivers.  Through  the  introduction  of  economical 
methods  in  handling  business,  and  the  consolidation  of  several  roads 
under  one  management,  the  cost  of  operation  was  reduced  to  such  a  point 
that  the  fixed  charges  could  be  met  and  dividends  be  paid  to  the  stock¬ 
holders.  Many  big  corporations  were  reorganized  and  placed  on  a  firm 
foundation.  Between  1888  and  1892,  the  railroad  mileage  of  the  country 
was  again  expanded  with  old-time  fervor. 

I  believe  we  have  now  passed  the  skyrocket  period  of  railroad  develop¬ 
ment,  and  that,  in  future,  the  efforts  of  financiers  will  be  directed  to  the 
still  further  consolidation  of  the  great  and  small  lines  of  travel.  The 
public  has  never  been  served  as  well  as  at  the  present  time.  Rates  for 
the  transportation  of  freight  and  passengers  have  been  reduced  to  a  point 
entirely  within  reason.  The  road-beds  are  kept  in  thorough  repair  by 
skilled  workmen;  the  trains,  especially  the  limited  ones,  are  as  luxurious 
in  their  appointments  as  a  king’s  palace;  the  number  of  accidents  has 
been  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  the  introduction  of  the  block,  and  other 
signal  systems. 

The  same  conditions  that  brought  about  the  consolidation  of  the  rail¬ 
roads  have  resulted  in  the  union  of  industrial  enterprises.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  mills  devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  woolen  cloths.  For¬ 
merly,  a  factory  turned  out,  perhaps,  twenty  different  lines  of  goods. 
When  the  required  stock  of  one  kind  of  cloth  was  supplied,  the  looms 
must  be  readjusted,  new  yarns  run  in,  new  patterns  laid  out,  and  a  new 
start  made  generally.  These  frequent  changes  added  heavily  to  the  cost 
of  production.  ^ 

Then  a  clear-brained  man  appeared,  and  argued  that,  by  combining 
a  dozen  or  more  of  these  mills,  it  would  be  possible  to  so  arrange  the 
work  as  to  increase  the  output,  reduce  expenses,  and  make  more 
money,  three  most  desirable  results  from  the  manufacturer’s  standpoint. 
The  several  plants  were  examined  by  experts  who  determined  the  kind 
of  work  for  which  each  was  best  adapted,  and  a  consolidation  of  the  fac¬ 
tories  under  one  general  management  was  effected.  Now  one  of  these 
mills  is  kept  running  the  year  round  on  one  style  of  goods,  such  as 
broadcloth,  or  tweeds,  or  worsteds.  No  time  is  lost  in  taking  out  one 
weave  and  putting  in  another,  and  the  quality  of  the  product  is  improved, 
and  the  output  increased.  The  invariable  result  of  these  industrial 
combinations  has  been  a  reduction  in  the  prices  of  the  articles  sold. 


232 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


One  of  the  great  factors  in  determining  the  cost  of  goods  to  the  re¬ 
tailer  is  the  cost  of  the  transportation  of  merchandise  from  the  original 
point  of  purchase.  Before  the  trunk  lines  were  established,  freight  des¬ 
tined  for  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  or  St.  Paul,  was  sent  by  the  canals  to  Buf¬ 
falo,  where  it  was  loaded  upon  sailing  vessels  and  taken  across  the 
lakes  to  its  destination  —  a  slow  and  tedious  process.  Merchants  who 
could  not  wait  for  their  goods  to  be  shipped  in  this  way,  and  did  not 
mind  the  expense,  ordered  them  to  be  forwarded  by  rail.  If  they  went 
by  the  way  of  the  Hudson  River  Road,  on  reaching  Albany  they  were 
taken  out  of  the  car  and  delivered  to  the  New  York  Central,  which 
placed  them  in  its  cars  and  hauled  them  to  the  end  of  its  line,  where  they 
were  transferred  to  the  connecting  road.  In  this  way,  the  freight  was 
handled  six  or  eight  times  before  reaching  the  man  to  whom  it  was 
consigned. 

Compare  this  slow  method  with  that  now  nsed.  A  car-load  of  goods 
travels,  on  express  schedule,  from  New  York  to  Chicago,  and  even  to 
San  Francisco, —  three  thousand  miles  away, —  without  once  breaking 
bulk.  The  handling  and  rehandling  of  freight  at  terminal  points  has 
largely  been  done  away  with,  through  the  adoption  of  traffic  agreements, 
under  which  cars  are  hauled  over  the  different  lines  of  railroad  to  their 
destinations,  without  being  opened.  The  introduction  of  more  econom¬ 
ical  methods  of  handling  freight  has  so  greatly  reduced  the  cost  of  trans¬ 
portation  that  a  car-load  of  goods  can  now  be  delivered  in  Los  Angeles 
at  about  the  same  rate  that  was  paid  a  few  years  ago  for  its  delivery  in 
Chicago.  The  low  charges  on  fruits  grov^n  in  California  and  shipped  in 
refrigerator  cars  across  the  continent  to  the  Atlantic  coast  have  made  it 
possible  for  the  growers  to  deliver  in  New  York,  oranges,  pears,  apri¬ 
cots,  and  cherries,  at  prices  which  seem  ridiculously  cheap,  when  the 
quality  of  the  fruit,  and  the  long  distance,  are  considered. 

In  spite  of  all  the  calamity  howling  of  the  anarchists,  the  socialists, 
and  the  pessimists  of  our  day,  capital  and  labor  are  more  closely  allied 
than  ever  before  in  the  nation’s  history.  The  line  between  the  two  is 
not  so  carefully  drawn  as  it  once  was.  The  tyranny  of  the  labor  unions 
is  lessening,  and  employers  are,  as  a  class,  treating  their  men  with 
greater  consideration.  When  I  state  that  this  condition  of  affairs  is 
largely  due  to  the  formation  of  trusts  or  combinations  of  capital,  no 
doubt  some  of  my  readers  will  think  I  am  mistaken,  but  such  is  my  be¬ 
lief.  There  is  a  marked  tendency  among  thrifty  workingmen  to  invest 
their  savings  in  these  great  industrial  institutions,  which,  in  many 
localities,  are  taking  the  place  of  the  savings  banks  as  depositories  of 
surplus  earnings.  I  am  informed  that  for  several  years  it  has  been  the 
policy  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  to  encourage  its  emplo3’'ees  to 
acquire  stock  in  the  corporation.  The  stock  is  sold  to  them  on  such 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


233 


favorable  terms  that  they  are  able  to  buy  it  without  in  the  least  crippling 
themselves.  As  a  result,  many  linemen,  agents,  and  superintendents 
have  thus  acquired  stock  from  which  they  are  now  in  receipt  of  a  good 
income. 

Other  corporations  have  followed  the  example  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company  and  the  number  is  being  increased  from  year  to  year.  The 
officers  of  these  institutions  are  anxious  to  have  their  employees  become 
stockholders,  because  they  know  that  they  will  take  a  greater  interest  in 
the  business,  and  will  do  all  in  their  power  to  protect  and  advance  its 
welfare. 

From  a  workman’s  standpoint,  investments  in  these  trusts  are  desira¬ 
ble  for  several  reasons.  First,  is  the  pride  one  feels  in  being  a  stock¬ 
holder  in  a  great  financial  enterprise,  with  which  men  of  national 
reputation  and  wealth  are  affiliated.  Second,  is  the  knowledge  that  the 
business  is  conducted  by  the  best  talent  money  can  procure,  and  that  his 
investment  is  as  safe  in  their  hands  as  in  a  bank,  while  it  draws  a  better 
interest. 

I  have  been  asked  how  the  opportunities  for  young  men  to  get  on  in 
the  world  in  the  dry-goods  business  compare  now  with  those  of  thirty 
years  ago.  In  reply,  I  would  say  that  they  are  much  more  numerous, 
and  promise  greater  financial  returns.  The  creation  of  those  large 
emporiums  of  trade,  called  department  stores,  has  brought  about  a  de¬ 
mand  for  specialists  in  the  different  lines  who  are  paid  salaries  that  a  few 
years  ago  would  have  been  considered  princely.  A  boy  of  1875  was 
obliged  to  begin  at  the  bottom  and  learn  all  departments  of  the  busi¬ 
ness.  To-day,  such  has  been  its  expansion,  that  a  boy  learns  only  one 
or  two  branches,  for  the  reason  that  he  has  not  the  time  or  opportunity 
to  learn  more.  If  he  masters  these  thoroughly,  however,  he  becomes  a 
valuable  factor  in  the  business,  and  he  can  command  a  handsome  salary. 

A  small  merchant  who  was  able  to  make  $1,000  or  $1,500  a  year  con¬ 
ducting  a  store,  now  receives  twice,  or  thrice,  that  amount  as  the  head 
of  a  department.  While  young  men  have  to-day  greater  opportunities 
for  making  money  than  ever  before,  because  there  are  more  responsible 
positions  to  fill,  they  have  fewer  chances  to  become  their  own  masters, 
owing  to  the  condensation  of  the  dry-goods  business.  Where  formerly 
there  were  a  dozen  stores,  each  conducted  by  an  individual  owner,  there 
is  now  one  huge  establishment  doing  business  on  a  colossal  scale.  A 
group  of  such  establishments,  operated  and  owned  by  a  single  corpora¬ 
tion,  is  called  a  trust. 

Trusts  are  the  natural  outgrowth  of  trade  conditions  that  cannot  be 
changed.  Much  of  the  talk  we  hear  about  them  is  the  veriest  bosh.  In 
these  days  of  enlightenment  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  trust  in  its  strict¬ 
est  sense.  No  corporation,  no  matter  how  colossal,  can  long  defy  public 


234 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


opinion.  To  be  successful  it  must  be  managed  by  men  of  brains  and 
ability.  Brains  can  and  do  command  a  greater  income  in  managing 
such  corporations  than  if  engaged  in  conducting  a  small  business  or  in  a 
cooperative  concern  for  the  distribution  of  goods.  The  reason  for  this 
is  that  large  amounts  of  capital  are  ready  to  go  into  any  enterprise 
which  promises  a  return  of  from  four  per  cent,  to  six  per  cent.  Such  corpo¬ 
rations  are  attractive,  not  only  to  the  wealthy,  but  to  men  of  small  means, 
who  know  that  their  money  is  reasonably  safe  and  has  just  as  good  a 
chance  to  bring  large  returns,  proportionately,  as  the  capitalist’s  millions. 

These  combinations  with  millions  of  capital  have  made  possible  the 
earning  of  salaries  never  dreamed  of  in  the  old  days.  Presidents  of  in¬ 
surance  companies  receive  from  $50,000  to  $75,000  a  year;  presidents  of 
industrial  institutions  as  much  as  $100,000,  while  Mr.  Schwab,  the  pres¬ 
ident  of  the  steel  trust,  is  said  to  receive  an  annual  fortune  of  half  a 
million  dollars.  Of  course,  these  are  the  prizes  of  the  world,  yet  five- 
thousand-dollars-a-year  places  are  more  plentiful  now  than  were  the 
thousand-dollar  places  in  the  early  ’sixties,  or  prior  to  the  war. 

The  expansion  of  this  nation  means  much  to  the  youth  of  the  country. 
It  means  increased  opportunities  for  acquiring  wealth  and  position,  both 
here  and  abroad.  It  means  that 'America,  in  the  near  future,  will  be  in 
command  of  the  markets  of  the  world,  and  that  those  who  are  to  direct 
its  destinies  have  before  them  a  career  such  as  has  never  been  dreamed 
of  even  by  the  most  visionary  of  our  citizens.  We  are  destined  to  be¬ 
come  the  greatest  maritime  nation,  because  we  hold  the  keys  to  the  great 
storehouses  from  which  other  lands  must  draw  supplies.  Enough  coal, 
iron,  and  copper,  lie  buried  here,  to  meet  the  demands  of  all  peoples  for 
centuries  to  come. 

England  is  alarmed  at  the  rapidity  with  which  American  enterprise  is 
crowding  her  manufactures  out  of  the  home  and  foreign  markets.  We 
can  make  and  deliver  machinery  and  structural  iron  at  a  lower  price,  and 
in  less  time,  than  can  any  foreign  manufacturer.  England’s  main  idea 
has  been  thrift  and  conservatism.  The  time  has  now  come  when  she 
must  get  out  of  the  rut  or  her  factories  will  be  obliged  to  close. 

In  view  of  the  facts  which  I  have  already  enumerated,  and  from  the 
outlook  for  the  future,  I  think  I  am  warranted  in  saying  that  the  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  young  men  to  succeed  in  life  and  make  comfortable  fortunes 
are  fully  tenfold  greater  than  they  were  twenty-five  years  ago.  It  must 
not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  very  much  more  is  required.  A  young 
man  of  mediocre  talents,  who  has  neglected  to  prepare  himself  properly 
for  the  great  struggle  of  life,  has  little  chance  of  success.  He  is  handi¬ 
capped  at  the  very  start,  and  cannot  expect  to  win.  ^Thoroughness  of 
preparation  is  the  important  thing  to  be  remembered  by  the  youth  of 
the  land. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


235 


The  one  thing  we  have  to  fear  is  the  tendency  to  extravagance,  which 
is  apparent  among  all  classes.  The  entire  European  world,  noting  this 
fact,  regards  with  great  apprehension  the  future  of  our  country,  and  ex¬ 
presses  doubt  as  to  a  continuation  of  its  prosperity  on  the  present  basis. 
The  study  of  the  economic  conditions  that  have  prevailed  abroad  for  the 
past  hundred  years  leads  to  this  conclusion.  If  our  young  men  and 
women  will  curb  their  extravagant  tastes  in  dress,  in  amusements,  and 
ways  of  living,  there  is  no  question  in  my  mind  as  to  the  future  prosper¬ 
ity  of  the  nation,  and  the  happiness  of  the  people. 


WINNING  THE  WORLD’S  TRADE 

By  CHARLES  R.  FLINT 

OVER  night,  almost,  the  United  States  has  grown  into  a 
great  exporting  nation.  Merchants  and  manufac¬ 
turers  who,  all  their  lives,  have  been  busy  fighting 
for  the  home  markets,  with  no  thought  beyond,  suddenly 
find  themselves  thrust  into  the  world  where  eager  pur¬ 
chasers  are  clamoring  for  their  wares.  In  the  space  of 
six  years,  our  exports  have  grown  from  $824,000,000  to 
$1,477,000,000,  an  increase  of  over  $650,000,000.  Nothing 
so  amazing  has  ever  been  recorded  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  mere  increase,  almost  approximates  the  total 
exports  of  France,  a  country  that,  not  so  many  years  ago, 
led  the  United  States  as  an  exporting  nation.  The  in¬ 
crease  in  our  exports  represents  a  gain  of  over  seventy- 

« 

five  per  cent.,  in  six  years.  That  this  increase  is  to  continue  in  an  even 
greater  ratio,  is  shown  by  the  Treasury  reports  of  our  exports  so  far  this 
year  (1901).  For  May,  we  showed  an  increase  of  $i  1,000,000  over  the  rec¬ 
ord  of  May,  1900,  and  an  increase  of  $21,000,000  over  the  record  of  May, 
1899.  The  total  exports  for  the  month  of  May  amounted  to  $124,589,029. 
May  is  by  no  means  our  best  exporting  month,  but  the  total  of  that 

9 

month  this  year,  is  almost  as  great  as  was  the  total  of  a  whole  year’s 
exports  fifty  years  ago.  Figures  such  as  these  speak  more  strongly  than 
words,  of  the  enormous  progress  we  have  made  in  our  dealing  with  the 
outside  world.  Literally,  we  are  crowding  every  field  abroad.  As  one 
English  paper  said  recently :  To-day  it  is  literally  true  that  they  (the 
Americans)  are  selling  American  cotton  in  Manchester,  pig  iron  in 


236 


BUvSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Lancashire,  tin  plate  in  Cardiff,  and  steel  in  Sheffield.  It  only  remains 
for  them  to  take  American  coal  to  Newcastle.” 

With  few  exceptions,  Americans,  in  the  past,  have  not  actively  sought 
foreign  markets.  What  has  come  to  them  was  obtained  largely  without 
solicitation.  The  enormous  increase  in  exports  is  due,  not  to  a  sys¬ 
tematic  effort  to  sell  goods,  but  to  the  excellence  of  the  goods  produced 
by  the  perfected  American  machinery.  It  has  been  found  that  we  can 
produce  goods  of  a  better  quality  at  a  lower  price  than  any  other  nation. 
This  holds  good  of  staple  articles  that  can  be  reproduced  again  and  again 
in  the  same  pattern.  In  these  lines,  where  special  and  changeable  de¬ 
signs  are  demanded,  the  American  has  had  no  share,  nor  can  he  hope  to 
obtain  a  share.  Goods  of  that  description  are  produced  principally 
through  hand-labor,  and  our  labor  is  too  expensive  to  compete  in  that 
field.  We  are  strong  where  our  workmen  act,  not  as  direct  producers, 
but  as  supervisors  of  improved  machinery.  Concerns  making  special 
articles  susceptible  of  such  reproduction,  have  only  been  required  in  the 
past  to  persistently  send  samples  of  their  wares  to  the  foreign  markets, 
in  order  to  obtain  a  considerable  trade  without  much  effort  or  serious 
competition.  Now,  however,  we  may  look  for  active  competition  from 
two  directions.  There  will  be  a  general  rush  on  the  part  of  all  American 
producers,  for  a  share  in  this  very  desirable  foreign  business,  and  the 
European  manufacturer,  seeing  his  market  slipping  away  from  him  be¬ 
cause  of  the  advanced  methods  in  machinery  of  the  American,  will  seek 
to  copy  these  methods  and  this  machinery.  The  foreigner’s  success  in 
this  direction,  has  been  indifferent,  but  he  is  sending  his  young  men 
to  us  to  observe  our  ways  and  copy  our  methods,  and  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that,  in  a  few  years,  he  will  have  put  himself  fairly  abreast  of 
the  times,  and  will  give  us,  if  we  are  not  careful,  a  hard  fight  to  hold  the 
markets  which  are  now  fairly  tumbling  into  our  lap. 

It  is  essential,  therefore,  that  the  American  manufacturer  and  mer¬ 
chant  should  not  be  content  with  merely  filling 'the  orders  that  come  in, 
but  that  he  should  cultivate  and  enlarge  the  opportunities  that  are  now 
his.  Once  he  is  fairly  established,  he  maybe  reasonably  sure  of  holding 
his  trade,  for  the  foreign  consumer  is  conservative,  and  strong  induce¬ 
ments  must  be  offered  him,  to  induce  a  change  of  base,  once  he  has 
formed  the  habit  of  buying  in  certain  quarters.  But  this  habit  has  to  be 
formed,  and,  aggressive  as  the  American  is,  he  has  heretofore  not  done 
much  in  that  direction  The  methods  to  be  employed  to  secure  trade 
abroad  are  very  much  the  same  as  those  that  must  be  employed  in  se¬ 
curing  domestic  trade.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  study  the  market 
carefully.  This  can  be  done  best  by  sending  a  thoroughly  equipped  rep¬ 
resentative  into  the  field.  It  is  not  always  enough  that  the  goods  to  be 
sold  are  better  and  cheaper  than  the  goods  sold  by  other  manufacturers. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


237 


The  foreigner  is  not  accustomed  to  our  rush  methods,  and  is  not  always 
susceptible  when  they  are  applied.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  study 
his  idiosyncrasies  and  cater  to  them. 

For  example,  in  South  America  the  American  salesman  is  almost  in¬ 
variably  beaten  by  his  German  competitor;  not  because  the  German’s 
goods  are  any  better  —  often  they  are  not  so  good  —  but  because  the  Ger¬ 
man  lends  himself  to  the  peculiar  customs  of  the  country.  The  South 
Americans  are  a  fine,  hospitable  race,  generous  and  considerate,  and,  with 
fair  treatment,  they  are  easily  won.  Unfortunately,  the  average  American 
makes  the  mistake  of  underestimating  their  ability  and  genius.  He  does 
not  understand  their  character,  and,  nine  times  out  of  ten,  runs  afoul  of 
what  he  considers  their  peculiarities.  He  fails  to  understand  that  these 
peculiarities  are  only  peculiarities  in  his  eyes,  and  that  it  is  his  part 
to  recognize  this  and  conform  to  them.  The  ordinary  American  under¬ 
stands  only  the  American  method  of  selling  goods.  He  wants  to  go 
into  a  town,  arrange  his  samples,  show  his  wares,  take  orders,  and  de¬ 
part.  That  sort  of  thing  will  not  work  in  our  foreign  trade.  Whether 
it  is  in  South  America,  Europe,  or  the  Orient,  the  salesman  will  find 
that  he  must  adopt  different  methods.  He  must  first  get  in  touch  with 
the  people  whom  he  wants  as  customers. 

When  a  salesman  enters  a  foreign  town,  he  must  make  it  his  duty  to 
call  on  all  the  leading  merchants  without  mentioning  trade.  Social  rela¬ 
tions  should  be  established,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  courtesies  ex¬ 
changed.  It  is  well  to  keep  business  in  the  background,  for  a  while. 
The  result  of  this  will  be,  that  the  merchant,  of  his  own  accord,  will 
request  that  the  samples  carried  by  the  traveler  be  shown,  and,  on  this 
basis,  trade  may  be  established.  Of  course  this  system  should  not  be 
adopted  universally.  Each  country,  whether  in  South  America,  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  Asia,  or  Africa,  has  its  peculiar  characteristics,  and  the  thing  to  do 
is  to  study  these  characteristics.  It  is  idle  to  expect  that  a  man  whom 
you  want  as  a  customer  will  mold  himself  to  your  ideas ;  instead,  you 
must  mold  yourself  to  his.  The  wise  business  man  is  quick  to  under¬ 
stand  this. 

Another  thing  of  great  importance  is  the  packing  and  preparation  of 
goods.  With  the  average  American,  the  package  is  of  little  importance. 
What  is  wanted  are  the  goods  inside.  With  the  foreigner,  in  many 
cases,  the  wrapper  is  almost  as  important  as  the  contents. 

Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  on  this  question  of  packing.  In 
the  future,  the  foreigner  maybe  relied  on  to  recognize  the  superiority  of 
American  goods,  regardless  of  their  envelope.  For  the  present,  how¬ 
ever,  while  we  are  still  engaged  in  building  up  our  reputation  and 
establishing  our  trade  marts,  it  is  absolutely  essential  that  we  should 
conform  to  the  demands  of  foreign  buyers,  by  furnishing  goods  prepared 


23S 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


in  the  way  that  they  have  been  accustomed  to  receive  them  for  years, ^ — - 
in  many  cases,  for  centuries.  It  is  a  singular  thing  that,  whereas,  in 
shop  trade,  America  has  long  led  the  world  in  the  way  of  wrapping, 
little  or  no  attention,  comparatively,  has  been  paid,  until  recently,  to  this 
branch  of  the  business  by  manufacturers  and  wholesalers. 

In  the  retail  shops  of  England,  France,  and  Germany,  as  well  as  in 
the  South  American  and  Oriental  countries,  goods  are  delivered  to  buyers 
without  any  attention  to  the  wrapping.  Old  newspapers  are  considered 
good  enough  for  such  a  purpose,  where  there  is  any  wrapping  at  all.  In 
many  of  the  countries,  goods  are  delivered  across  the  counter  without 
any  wrapping.  Such  an  elaborate  system  of  parcel  wrapping  as  prevails 
in  our  retail  stores  here,  large  and  small,  is  unknown.  On  the  other 
hand,  foreign  merchants  have  been  accustomed,  for  many  generations, 
to  receive  their  goods  from  the  manufacturers  in  the  most  compact  and 
portable  shape.  Out  of  this  has  grown  a  habit  of  demanding  goods  that 
need  little  or  no  wrapping,  after  they  are  put  on  the  shelves  for  sale  in 
the  retail  establishments.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  American  firms  that  want 
to  share  in  this  trade,  to  study  this  question  with  great  care,  and  to  adapt 
themselves,  as  much  as  possible,  to  the  custom  in  this  regard.  Of  course, 
there  are  some  cases  where  the  American  cannot,  profitably,  follow  these 
demands.  In  such  cases,  he  has  little  chance  for  competition;  and,  on 
the  whole,  it  is  well,  perhaps,  for  him,  if  he  does  not  try  to  enter  these 
fields,  which  may  well  be  left  to  the  English  and  Germans,  who,  like 
ourselves,  do  not  depend  upon  the  duplication  of  machine-made  goods, 
but  rather  upon  the  cheapness  of  theii:  labor  in  producing  just  what  is 
wanted  in  various  shapes  and  sizes. 

Nothing  else  has  helped  more  to  stimulate  our  foreign  trade  than  the 
excellent  work  of  our  consuls.  In  theory,  our  consular  system  is  the  poor¬ 
est  of  any  of  the  great  nations;  in  practice,  it  is  the  best.  Every  time  a 
new  president  is  elected,  theie  is,  practically,  a  complete  change  in  every 
important  consulate.  This  means  that,  just  when  a  man  is  thoroughly 
mastering  the  field  in  which  he  is  operating,  he  is  recalled,  to  make  way 
for  a  new  appointee.  In  the  nature  of  things,  one  would  suppose  that  this 
continual  changing  would  demoralize  the  consular  service,  and  render  it 
useless  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  established.  A  man  entering  the 
United  States  consular  service  has  no  future,  no  career,  the  situation  en¬ 
tirely  differing,  in  this  regard,  from  that  existing  in  the  services  estab¬ 
lished  by  England,  Germany,  France,  and  other  countries.  Yet,  in  spite 
of  this  handicap,  so  great  is  the  superiority  of  the  average  American,  that 
it  is  conceded,  abroad,  that  we  get  better  and  more  important  service  out 
of  our  consuls  than  does  any  other  country.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  American,  in  every  rank  of  life,  is  a  keen,  shrewd  observer,  and  a 
hustler.  The  foreign  consul  is  content  to  sit  at  his  post  and  do  as  his 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


239 


predecessors  have  done.  The  American  is  instinct  with  a  desire  for  new 
and  improved  methods,  and  the  man  appointed  to  a  consular  post  plunges 
into  his  work  at  once,  determined  to  make  a  record.  How  much  more 
might  we  get  out  of  our  consuls,  if  the  hustling,  observing  spirit  was 
further  stimulated  by  an  assurance  of  permanency  as  a  reward  for  good 
work,  and  a  chance  of  promotion!  That  there  would  be  a  great  im¬ 
provement  is  easily  conceivable.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  Con¬ 
gress  will  enact  measures  along  this  line,  by  which  the  efficiency  and  the 
value  of  the  consular  service  will  be  greatly  enhanced. 

The  foreigners  are  beginning  to  appreciate  the  value  of  our  consular 
methods.  This  is  shown  by  the  numerous  foreign  newspapers  that  are 
urging  their  governments  to  copy  the  better  features  of  our  plan. 
Speaking  of  the  methods  of  American  consuls,  one  of  the  papers 
says : — 

Every  shipment  of  goods  to  a  United  States  port  must  pass  through 
the  hands  of  the  American  consul,  vice-consul,  or  consular  agent  for  the 
district  from  which  the  goods  are  sent,  and  the  amount,  value,  place  of 
origin,  market  price  ruling  in  the  country  of  production,  the  method  of  pro¬ 
duction,  and  similar  data,  are  carefully  noted.  In  virtue  of  this  system, 
the  United  States  obtains  valuable  information,  which  is  used  to  the  best 
advantage  at  home,  and,  naturally,  is  of  great  assistance  to  American  ex¬ 
porters,  who  know  exactly  what  is  wanted  abroad,  and  where  it  is  wanted, 
and,  consequently,  have  not  to  work  blindly  or  to  pay  dearly  for  the  les¬ 
sons  of  experience.  Still  more  important  is  the  fact  that  the  Americans 
obtain  all  this  information  practically  gratis,  since  the  foreign  producer  or 
shipper  not  only  is  obliged  to  supply  the  above  data,  but  has  to  pay  more 
or  less  heavy  fees  for  the  consular  signature,  which  alone  is  taken  in  proof 
that  these  formalities  have  been  fulfilled. 

Another  factor  that  may  be  relied  on  to  enlarge  our  trade  abroad, 
is  the  tendency  that  is  showing  itself  in  the  way  of  restoring  our  suprem¬ 
acy  as  a  nation  of  ship  owners.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  trade  follows 
the  flag.  While,  in  our  own  case,  it  is  shown  that  the  establishment  of 
foreign  trade  does  not  depend  necessarily  upon  carrying  goods  in  our  own 
bottoms,  still  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  flag  helps  materially.  Eng¬ 
land  owes  much  of  her  world-wide  commerce  to  the  fact  that  her  flag 
flies  in  every  port.  If  we  can  do  what  we  have  done  without  this  stimu¬ 
lus,  with  it,  our  progress  will  be  rapidly  increased.  Everything  that 
encourages  American  shipping  is  to  be  carefully  fostered  by  those  mer¬ 
chants  and  manufacturers  who  seek  to  have  a  share  in  our  commercial 
expansion.  From  this  standpoint  alone,  the  measure  that  has  been  dis¬ 
cussed  for  stimulating  American  shipping,  the  ship  subsidy,  is  a  good 
business  proposition.  Viewed,  too,  from  another  standpoint,  it  is  a 
measure  that  should  command  general  support.  To-day,  we  are  paying 


240 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  to  foreign  ship  owners  for  carrying  our 
products  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  This  money  should  be  kept  at 
home.  Instead  of  enriching  foreigners  with  our  freights,  we  ought  to 
do  our  own  carrying,  and  keep  the  money  in  this  country.  Such  a  course 
would  add  materially  to  our  prosperity.  The  vast  sums  we  are  now  pay¬ 
ing  out  to  foreign  carriers  is  a  tremendous  drain. 

There  is  one  point  to  be  rigorously  observed  by  every  house  that 
wants  to  send  its  goods  abroad.  The  foreign  trade  is  not  worth  culti¬ 
vating  unless  it  is  to  be  a  permanent  trade.  It  is  too  expensive  a  propo¬ 
sition  for  a  mere  temporary  outlet.  Therefore,  the  man  or  the  concern 
desiring  to  go  into  this  market  should  see  to  it,  first  of  all,  that,  once  in 
the  field,. he  has  every  prospect  of  remaining  there.  The  main  consid¬ 
eration  is  to  supply  a  standard  quality  of  goods.  Strict  honesty  is  abso¬ 
lutely  essential.  Everything  sold  must  be  exactly  as  represented.  To 
send  high-grade  goods  at  the  beginning,  and  then  to  let  the  quality  drop, 
is  worse  than  folly.  It  is  a  good  form  of  business  suicide.  Whatever 
else  he  may  be,  the  foreign  buyer  is  generally  a  shrewd  judge  of  values, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  deceive  him  more  than  once.  True,  there  is  a 
considerable  market,  especially  in  South  America,  for  adulterated  goods 
of  a  certain  form,  but  this  market  is  not  worth  cultivating.  It  is  con¬ 
trolled  at  present  by  the  English,  and  we  may  well  rest  content  to 
let  them  have  this  control.  It  is  a  question  merely  of  time  when  the 
people  who  are  now  buying  these  goods  will  awake  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  not  receiving  value  for  their  money,  and  then  the  reaction  is  bound 
to  do  great  damage.  So  far,  the  American  manufacturer  has  been  very 
wise  in  not  seeking  to  enter  into  competition  with  the  Englishmen  in  the 
matter  of  selling  adulterated  and  inferior  articles. 

The  Chinese  are  very  clever  buyers,  even  the  poorest  of  them.  They 
demand  cheapness ;  but  they  also  demand  quality.  The  result  is  that  in 
that  market  cheap  American  cottons  control,  and  the  flimsy  material  of 
British  manufacture  has  no  chance. 

America  is  thoroughly  awake  to  her  destiny  as  the  great  commercial 
world  power,  and  she  is  preparing  herself  to  live  up  to  this  destiny.  No 
better  indication  of  this  is  to  be  had  than  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  every¬ 
where  we  are  taking  special  means  to  produce  a  class  of  high-grade  mer¬ 
chants.  Within  the  past  few  years,  nearly  every  city  in  the  land  has 
established  special  commercial  classes  in  the  public  schools,  and  many  of 
the  leading  universities  now  have  complete  commercial  courses.  This 
movement  cannot  be  too  much  encouraged.  It  assures  us  of  a  genera¬ 
tion  of  young  men  who  will  be  thoroughly  equipped  to  handle  and  con¬ 
trol  the  trade  of  the  world.  Such  men  are  absolutely  necessary.  In 
conjunction  with  our  advanced  system  of  manufacture,  which  to-day  is 
the  finest  on  earth,  these  young  men  will  make  for  America  a  permanent 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


241 


place  in  the  front  in  the  struggle  for  the  foreign  markets.  It  is  written 
that  we  shall  be  the  world’s  storehouse,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  do  every¬ 
thing  in  our  power  to  equip  the  coming  generation,  in  every  possible 
way,  for  its  great  task. 


Trades  Unions. —  Organizations  of  workingmen  formed  to  enable 
the  members  to  secure  rights  and  privileges,  fair  wages,  and  eco¬ 
nomic  conditions  most  favorable  to  labor. 

Transit  Duty. —  Tax  imposed  on  goods  in  passing  through  a 
country. 


TRAVELING  AND  TRANSFERRING  FUNDS 


Large  Amounts  of  Currency  Should  Not  be  Carried  by  Travelers  —  Safety 
OF  Drafts — Use  of  Letters  of  Credit  in  Traveling  Abroad — Easy 
Methods  of  Identification  at  Any  Foreign  Bank — Passing  Goods  through 
THE  Customhouse — The  American  Tariff — Transferring  Money  by  Certified 
Checks  and  Cashier’s  Checks — Money  Orders  and  Registered  Letters. 

There  is  a  variety  of  banking  devices  for  commanding  money  easily 
and  safely  when  traveling,  and  for  transferring  money  from 
place  to  place.  It  is  unwise  to  carry  large  amounts  of  currency 
about  the  person.  It  involves  not  only  temptation  to  thieves  in  hotels 
and  railway  trains,  but  the  risk  of  loss  through  earelessness.  A  cer¬ 
tain  amount  of  currency  is  necessary  for  daily  needs,  but  banking 
credits  of  various  kinds  are  preferable,  when  one  travels  from  one 
business  center  to  another.  Checks  upon  one’s  personal  account, 
which  may  be  carried  in  blank,  are  sufficient  in  many  cases,  but  they 
are  not  always  accepted  from  a  person  who  is  not  well  known.  A 
good  plan,  if  checks  are  carried,  is  to  make  part  payment  in  advance 
for  hotel  expenses,  when  one  stops  at  a  hotel  of  good  standing,  giving 
the  proprietor  time  to  collect  the  check  before  one’s  departure.  A 
business  man  or  woman  will  probably  find  his  or  her  personal  checks 
acceptable  where  they  have  become  well  known  for  prompt  pay¬ 
ment.  There  are  several  forms  of  banking  credits,  however,  which 
are  more  readily  negotiable  than  are  personal  checks.  Among  these 
are  banking  drafts  upon  a  commercial  center,  certified  checks  and 
cashier’s  ehecks.  Drafts  are  equally  useful  for  sending  by  mail  or  for 
making  personal  payments. 

Vol.  XIII— 16 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


242 


Bank  drafts  are  much  safer  than  an  equal  quantity  of  currency, 
because  if  stolen  they  cannot  be  readily  negotiated.  The  attempt  to 
negotiate  them  involves  skillful  forgeries,  and  identification  at  a  bank, 
unless  the  forger  can  get  them  accepted  by  some  business  man. 
Drafts  are  similar  to  cashier’s  checks  drawn  upon  other  banks.  They 
simply  direct  the  bank  upon  which  they  are  drawn  to  pay  a  given 
sum  of  money  to  the  person  named  in  the  draft.  Such  drafts  can  be 
readily  transferred  by  endorsement  in  any  business  town.  If  they 
bear  the  usual  marks  and  signatures,  moreover,  they  will  be  accepted 
even  by  a  stranger,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  payment  of  a  hotel  bill, 
much  more  readily  than  would  a  personal  check.  Banks  away  from 
New  York,  and  particularly  in  the  West  and  South,  are  generally 
glad  to  receive  drafts  upon  New  York,  because  they  entitle  them  to 
money  there  which  they  might  otherwise  have  to  send  by  express, 
or  themselves  pay  the  cost  of  exchange.  The  same  is  true,  more  or 
less,  of  drafts  drawn  upon  any  commercial  center,  like  Chicago  or  St. 
Louis,  and  offered  in  the  radius  of  territory  doing  business  with 
them.  A  small  charge  is  sometimes  made  for  the  issue  of  drafts,  but 
usually  only  a  few  cents  for  several  hundreds  of  dollars. 

Certified  checks  also  are  useful  for  making  payments  of  impor¬ 
tance,  where  one  is  not  known,  or  where  the  certainty  of  the  validity 
of  the  cheek  is  an  important  element  in  closing  the  transaction.  A 
certified  check  is  a  personal  check,  that  has  received  the  endorsement 
of  the  cashier  of  the  bank  upon  which  it  is  drawn,  that  it  is  good  for 
its  face  value.  The  cashier  satisfies  himself  that  at  least  the  amount 
of  the  check  is  on  deposit  to  the  credit  of  the  maker,  and  makes  a 
memorandum  that  the  deposit  is  charged  with  the  amount.  He  is 
then  able  to  certify  to  the  value  of  the  check  without  running  any 
risk  of  loss  to  the  bank.  A  certified  check  is  more  acceptable  than 
is  the  check  of  an  individual,  because  it  bears  the  stamp  of  the  bank 
and  its  promise  to  pay.  Certified  checks  are  often  required  by  banks 
in  payments  of  interest  for  their  clients,  especially  from  persons  who 
are  not  well  known  to  them.  They  are  sometimes  required  by  mu¬ 
nicipal  governments  in  the  payment  of  taxes.  A  man  or  woman,  for 
instance,  who  owed  interest  on  a  mortgage,  might  receive  notice  from 
a  bank  where  the  mortgage  was  left  for  the  collection  of  the  interest, 
that  the  payment  must  be  made  by  certified  check.  A  simple  request 
addressed  to  one  of  the  tellers,  or  to  the  cashier  of  one’s  bank,  is 
sufficient  to  secure  prompt  and  courteous  certification  of  the  check. 
No  charge  for  the  service  is  usually  made. 

A  form  of  check  serving  somewhat  the  same  purpose  as  the  cer¬ 
tified  check,  is  the  cashier’s  check.  This  is  signed  by  the  cashier  of 
the  bank,  and  drawn  in  favor  of  the  person  asking  for  the  check,  or 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


243 


of  such  person  as  he  may  designate.  The  person  asking  for  the  check 
should  give  the  cashier  in  payment  a  check  upon  his  own  account 
for  the  amount  of  the  cashier’s  check  asked  for.  The  latter  may  be 
drawn  upon  some  other  bank.  Nearly  all  national  banks  have  deposits 
in  New  York  or  in  some  other  large  city.  A  person  having  a  pay¬ 
ment  to  make  in  New  York,  would  find  a  cashier’s  check  drawn  by 
the  cashier  of  his  own  bank  in  Ohio  or  Kentucky,  upon  its  reserve 
agent  in  New  York,  more  acceptable  as  a  means  of  payment  to  a  New 
York  firm  than  would  be  his  individual  check  upon  his  home  bank. 
He  would,  accordingly,  give  to  the  cashier  a  check  upon  his  own 
account,  and  would  receive  in  return  a  check  drawn  by  the  cashier 
upon  the  New  York  agent  of  the  bank.  Some  business  firms  stip¬ 
ulate  on  their  bills  and  accounts  that  they  must  be  paid  in  certified 
checks  or  in  cashier’s  checks  upon  some  large  city.  One  of  the  objects 
of  this  is  to  avoid  certain  charges  which  are  made  by  city  banks  for 
the  collection  of  country  checks.  It  is  obvious  that  it  must  cost 
something,  however  small,  to  make  all  the  necessary  clerical  entries 
in  exchanging  checks  between  different  banks.  There  is  also  the  cost 
of  expressage  or  postage,  and  sometimes  charges  for  the  actual  ship¬ 
ment  of  money.  There  is,  still  further,  the  loss  of  the  interest  upon 
the  amount  of  the  check  while  it  is  being  sent  home  for  collection. 
The  loss  upon  a  single  check  may  be  trifling,  but  upon  a  large  volume 
of  checks,  constantly  on  the  wing,  as  it  were,  between  the  city  and 
hundreds  of  interior  places,  the  amount  of  money  out  of  the  immedi¬ 
ate  use  of  the  bank,  and  upon  which  it  is  losing  interest,  is  large 
enough  to  be  a  material  element  in  its  profits.  The  system  of  making 
a  charge  of  a  few  cents  for  collecting  checks  has  recently  been  intro¬ 
duced  in  several  large  cities  and,  whether  these  charges  are  fully 
justified  or  not,  in  all  cases,  the  reasons  why  they  were  proposed  are 
obvious  from  the  facts  just  stated. 

The  letter  of  credit  is  one  of  the  most  convenient  and  ingenious 
devices  for  enabling  travelers  to  carry  the  title  to  large  sums  of  money 
at  almost  no  risk.  Letters  of  credit  are  issued  by  several  leading 
exchange  houses  and  bankers  of  New  York,  and  other  large  cities, 
and  these  letters  of  credit  can  be  obtained  by  any  bank  in  the  country 
upon  the  application  of  a  customer.  Many  banks  take  the  trouble  to 
post  notices  that  they  issue  letters  of  credit.  In  most  cases,  it  will 
be  found  that  they  simply  act  as  agents  for  the  New  York  exchange 
houses,  but  it  is  proper  and  convenient  for  the  traveler  to  deal  with 
his  local  bank  rather  than  to  attempt  to  deal  directly  with  the 
exchange  houses.  Letters  of  credit  are  not  usually  issued  for  less 
than  $500.  They  consist  of  a  folded  sheet,  bearing  upon  its  face  the 
body  of  the  letter,  and  upon  another  page  a  memorandum  for  enter- 


244 


BUSINESS  ANt)  COMMERCE 


ing  the  payments  which  are  made.  The  illustration  on  the  adjoining 
page  shows  the  face  of  a  letter  of  credit  issued  by  a  leading  New  York 
company. 

The  essential  operation  of  the  system  of  letters  of  credit  is  that  a 
firm  of  established  resources  and  standing  authorizes  the  traveler  to 
draw  upon  its  agents  in  all  parts  of  the  world  for  the  sum  of  money 
which  forms  the  limit  of  the  letter  of  credit.  Nearly  all  the  lead¬ 
ing  commercial  banks  in  Europe  are  agents  of  the  New  York 
firms  which  issue  letters  of  credit.  They  have  not  entered  into 
elaborate  articles  of  agreement  in  many  cases,  but  are  willing  to 
accept  a  draft  by  the  traveler  upon  the  bank  issuing  the  letter, 
because  they  know  that  it  will  be  promptly  paid.  They  are  agents 
in  the  same  sense  that  any  bank  is  an  agent  of  another  which  accepts 
a  check  drawn  upon  the  other.  In  the  case  of  letters  of  credit,  how¬ 
ever,  the  checks  or  drafts  drawn  by  the  traveler  are  known  to  be  good, 
because  the  letter  of  credit  certifies  that  he  has  a  certain  amount  on 
deposit  with  the  company  issuing  the  letter,  and  it  is  known  that  that 
company  is  a  bank,  or  exchange  house,  of  character  and  standing. 

The  traveler,  starting  for  Europe  with  his  letter  of  credit,  does  not 
use  it  until  he  lands  on  the  other  side.  It  is  necessary  for  him  to 
take  in  American  or  English  money  such  funds  as  he  needs  for  fees 
and  expenses  on  the  steamer.  English  money  is  preferable  on  the 
English  steamers,  as  all  their  transactions  are  expressed  in  pounds, 
shillings,  and  pence.  Before  starting  upon  the  voyage,  the  traveler 
will  find  it  most  convenient,  therefore,  to  exchange,  at  a  New  York 
broker’s,  some  American  money  for  English  gold  and  silver.  This 
will  be  independent  of  the  amount  invested  in  his  letter  of  credit. 
Upon  landing  in  Liverpool,  for  instance,  without  a  penny  in  his 
pocket,  he  can  go  at  once  to  the  Victoria  Street  branch  of  the  Bank 
of  Liverpool  and  present  his  letter.  He  will  find  few  difficulties,  or 
none,  in  obtaining  such  sum  as  he  wishes.  The  banker  will  simply 
ask  him  how  much  he  wants.  He  should  be  sufficiently  familiar  with 
English  money  to  make  his  answer  in  its  terms.  If  he  wants  about 
$50  he  should  say,  would  like  ;£'io. The  banker  will  then  fill  out 
a  draft  for  ^10,  requesting  the  house  which  issued  the  letter  of  credit 
to  pay  that  amount  to  the  Bank  of  Liverpool  and  to  charge  it  to  the 
account  of  the  traveler.  The  banker  will  push  this  draft  over  the 
counter  to  the  traveler  for  his  signature.  The  traveler  should  read 
the  parts  filled  in,  in  order  to  see  that  no  mistake  has  been  made  as 
to  the  amount,  attach  his  signature,  and  hand  the*  draft  back  to  the 
banker.  The  latter  will  glance  at  the  signature  on  the  draft,  and 
then  at  that  on  the  letter  of  credit,  to  see  if  they  are  alike,  and  will 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


245 


LETTER  OF  CREDIT 

0<K><><><>0<>0<><>COO<KKK>0<>0<><><>0<>0<KK>0<><K><K>^ 0-0-0-00-0 0-0-000000-0-00-0 O 


FOURTH  NATIONAL  BANK 


Letter  of  Credit, 
No.  16723 


Dear  Sirs: 


New  York,  April  75,  igo2 


IVe  have  to  request  you  to  be  good  enough 
to  furnish  Mr.  Frank  f.  Davis,  of  this  city, 
whose  signature  is  written  below,  with  such  funds 
as  he  7nay  reqvdre,  to  the  amount  of  Thirty-five 
Thousand  Francs  in  gold,  against  his  receipts, 
in  duplicate  [one  of  which  you  will  forward  to 
us),  for  such  sum  or  sums  as  you  may  make 
under  this  credit. 

This  letter  and  the  request  contained 
herein  is  intended  to  continue  in  force  until 
fan.  I,  igoj.  Such  sums  as  may  be  paid  to 
Mr.  Davis  shall  be  endorsed  upon  the  back  of  this 
letter  and  charged  to  the  account  of 

Your  obedient  servant 

The  Fourth  National  Bank 

George  Simpson 

President 

Signature  of 

Frank  f.  Davis 

To  Messieurs: 

The  Ba7ikers  nm^ted  and  addressed  on  the  third  page  of  this  letter. 


O0000000000000-000000-00000000-0000000000000000-00000000000< 


246 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


then  hand  over  the  money,  or  a  slip  entitling  the  holder  to  the  money 
at  another  eounter. 

Bankers  in  Europe  usually  make  no  objeetion  to  paying  amounts 
asked  upon  letters  of  credit,  without  any  inquiry  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  parties.  Comparison  of  the  signatures  affords  suoh  a  sufficient 
safeguard  that  it  is  said  that  hardly  a  pound  has  ever  been  lost  by  a 
payment  upon  a  letter  of  credit  through  fraudulent  representations. 
The  traveler  will  find,  however,  if  any  difficulty  arises,  that  the  house 
which  issued  the  letter  of  credit  has  sent  to  a  few  leading  points  a 
copy  of  his  signature.  This  is  obtained  before  he  leaves  the  country, 
by  a  request  that  he  fill  up  a  sheet  with  half  a  dozen  or  more  copies 
of  the  signature.  These  copies,  sent  perhaps  to.  London,  Paris,  Ber¬ 
lin,  Vienna,  and  Rome,  will  obviate  any  risk  that  the  signature  upon 
the  letter  of  credit  may  be  altered  by  any  one  finding  it  or  stealing 
it.  The  fact  that  these  duplicate  signatures  exist  at  the  leading 
money  centers  of  Europe,  is  doubtless  a  restraint  upon  thieves  in 
making  use  of  letters  of  credit,  and  contributes  to  the  safety  with 
which  payments  are  made  upon  them  all  over  the  world. 

The  banker  who  accepts  and  pays  a  draft  upon  a  letter  of  credit 
will  fill  in  upon  the  letter  the  amount  of  the  draft.  This  is  partly 
for  the  convenience  of  the  traveler,  affording  him  a  memorandum  of 
the  amounts  he  has  drawn,  and  partly  a  convenience  to  other  bank¬ 
ers,  in  preventing  an  attempt  to  draw  more  than  the  balance  due 
upon  the  letter.  It  is  partly  also  a  proof  that  the  payment  was  ac¬ 
tually  made  by  the  bank  sending  the  draft  to  the  New  York  house 
which  issued  the  letter.  The  entry  will  be  made  in  the  money  of  the 
country  where  the  draft  is  drawn,  so  that  the  traveler  cannot  deter¬ 
mine  to  a  cent  the  amount  drawn  or  the  margin  available,  unless  he 

is  able  to  calculate  exchange  to  a  nicety,  but  a  general  knowledge  of 

the  comparative  values  of  foreign  and  American  money,  will  enable 
him  to  tell  within  a  few  dollars,  at  least,  whether  he  has  reached  the 
limit  of  his  letter  of  credit.  The  balance  due  to  him  will  be  promptly 
adjusted  upon  his  return  to  this  country,  or  at  any  time,  by  the  trans¬ 
mission  of  the  letter  to  the  issuing  house. 

The  loss  of  a  letter  of  credit  should  be  promptly  communicated  to 
the  leading  banks  which  are  named  as  the  agents  of  the  issuing 
bank.  This  should  be  done  by  telegraph,  if  it  cannot  be  done  by 
personal  notice  in  a  leading  financial  center.  The  loss  of  a  letter  of 

credit  is  not  likely  to  be  attended  by  serious  consequences  if  prompt 

action  is  taken.  It  may  be  necessary  to  prove  pne’s  identity  at  a 
leading  city  bank,  and  to  submit  to  some  expense  for  cable  commu¬ 
nication  with  the  issuing  bank  in  New  York,  but  arrangements  can 
soon  be  made  by  reputable  persons  to  have  the  credit  renewed,  and 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


247 


notice  given  to  leading  banks  to  pay  nothing  upon  the  old  letter  if 
presented  by  the  finder. 

It  is  well,  when  going  abroad,  to  make  some  arrangements  with 
one’s  banker  by  which  more  money  can  be  put  to  one’s  credit,  if  nec¬ 
essary,  than  the  amount  of  the  letter  of  credit  which  is  taken.  Changes 
of  plan,  larger  expense  than  was  anticipated,  or  some  temporary 
difficulty  regarding  the  letter  of  credit,  will  thus  be  met  by  a  cable 
or  mail  communication  with  one’s  home  banker,  or  with  the  company 
issuing  the  letter  of  credit.  One  of  the  best  plans  is  to  authorize 
one’s  banker  to  pay  over  to  the  exchange  house  issuing  the  letter  of 
credit  such  sum  as  may  be  directed  by  cable.  Arrangements  should 
then  be  made  with  the  exchange  house  regarding  the  terms  and  sig¬ 
nature  of  such  a  message.  As  the  cable  companies  charge  for  the 
address  and  signature  of  a  message,  at  the  same  rates  as  the  body  of 
the  message,  most  firms  in  the  United  States  having  any  considerable 
business  abroad,  file  with  the  cable  companies  an  address  including 
only  one  word.  This  address  should  be  known  to  the  traveler,  and 
he  should  also  arrange  for  a  special  signature,  representing  his  last 
name,  if  the  name  is  not  a  common  one,  but,  otherwise,  some  combi¬ 
nation  which  will  be  distinctive.  The  mere  designation  of  the  amount 
desired,  without  other  words,  will  be  sufficient  for  the  body  of  the 
message,  if  the  matter  has  been  previously  arranged.  It  may  be  ad¬ 
vantageous  to  have  such  a  message  sent  by  the  foreign  agents  of  the 
New  York  house,  rather  than  directly  by  the  traveler. 

A  person  traveling  in  foreign  countries  will  be  subject  to  the 
search  of  his  baggage  for  the  enforcement  of  the  customs  laws. 
Nearly  all  countries  levy  some  sort  of  taxes,  called  customs  duties, 
upon  foreign  goods  entering  such  countries  for  use  there.  These 
duties  are  limited  in  some  countries  to  a  few  articles.  Thus,  in  Eng¬ 
land,  the  only  articles  for  which  a  traveler’s  baggage  is  likely  to  be 
searched  are  tobacco,  tea,  and  coffee.  England  is  what  is  called  a 
free-trade  country,  where  duties  are  levied  upon  articles  which  are 
not  produced  in  the  country.  There  is  no  other  country  pursuing 
this  policy  so  strictly.  The  continental  countries  of  Europe,  however, 
while  they  levy  high  duties  upon  wholesale  consignments  of  goods,  are 
not  severe  in  their  scrutiny  of  the  personal  baggage  of  travelers.  A 
traveler  from  London  to  Paris,  or  from  Brussels  to  Paris,  upon  a 
through  train,  does  not  have  to  submit  to  the  customs  inspection  of 
his  trunks  until  he  reaches  his  destination.  His  hand  baggage  may 
be  examined  at  the  frontier,  but  the  mere  opening  of  his  satchel  and 
the  announcement,  Nothing  dutiable,  in  English  or  French,  usually 
relieves  him  from  any  further  search  or  scrutiny.  Even  in  regard  to 
his  trunks,  the  continental  customs  officers  are  usually  lenient.  They 


248 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


ask,  perhaps,  to  have  the  tray  lifted,  take  a  look  at  the  general  con¬ 
tents  of  the  trunk,  and  mark  it  to  be  passed  without  payment  of 
duties.  This  course  is  pursued  only  in  the  case  of  travelers  who  are 
not  expected  to  reside  in  the  country  in  which  they  have  arrived.  A 
more  serious  effort  to  collect  duties  upon  their  baggage  might  be 
made,  if  it  were  known  that  they  were  bringing  the  goods  into  the 
country  to  be  left  there. 

The  system  of  examining  passengers’  baggage  is  much  more 
severe  in  the  United  States,  especially  in  New  York.  It  was  for¬ 
merly  the  custom  to  pass  any  articles  which  were  for  the  personal  use 
of  the  traveler,  no  matter  how  large  the  amount.  In  deciding 
whether  the  traveler  was  bringing  the  goods  for  sale,  some  regard 
would  be  had  to  his  social  station  and  wealth,  but  duty  would  not  be 
levied  upon  personal  effects  which  were  clearly  shown  to  be  such, 
and  not  intended  for  sale.  The  law  of  1894  declared  that  wearing 
apparel  and  other  personal  effects  (not  merchandise)  of  persons 
arriving  in  the  United  States  (shall  be  free  of  duty),  but  this  exemp¬ 
tion  shall  not  be  held  to  include  articles  not  actually  in  use  and 
necessary  and  appropriate  for  the  use  of  such  persons  for  the  purpose 
of  their  journey  and  present  comfort  and  convenience,  or  which  are 
intended  for  any  other  person  or  persons,  or  for  sale.^^  This  was 
changed  in  the  Dingley  Law  of  1897,  so  as  to  read  as  follows: — 

<<  Wearing  apparel,  articles  of  personal  adornment,  toilet  articles,  and  similar  per¬ 
sonal  effects  of  persons  arriving  in  the  United  States;  but  this  exemption  shall  only 
include  such  articles  as  actually  accompany  and  are  in  the  use  of,  and  as  are  necessary  and 
appropriate  for  the  wear  and  use  of  such  persons,  for  the  immediate  purposes  of  the 
journey  and  present  comfort  and  convenience,  and  shall  not  be  held  to  apply  to  mer¬ 
chandise  or  articles  intended  for  other  persons,  or  for  sale. 

<<  Provided,  That  in  case  of  residents  of  the  United  States  returning  from  abroad, 
all  wearing  apparel  and  other  personal  effects  taken  by  them  out  of  the  United  States 
to  foreign  countries  shall  be  admitted  free  of  duty,  without  regard  to  their  value,  upon 
their  identity  being  established,  under  appropriate  rules  and  regulations  to  be  prescribed 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  but  no  more  than  one  hundred  dollars  in  value  of 
articles  purchased  abroad  by  such  residents  of  the  United  States  shall  be  admitted  free 
of  duty  upon  their  return. >>  ■ 

This  change  of  law  subjects  passengers  arriving  at  New  York  to 
much  questioning  and  to  a  close  search  of  their  baggage.  It  will  be 
observed  that  two  important  changes  have  been  made  in  the  old 
requirements.  A  person  cannot  in  any  case  bring  in,  free  of  duty, 
goods  valued  at  more  than  $100,  and  he  eannot  even  bring  in  artieles 
of  this  value  unless  they  fall  under  the  definition,  wearing  apparel, 
articles  of  personal  adornment,  toilet  articles,  and' similar  personal 
effects.  This  language  is  held  at  the  New  York  customhouse  to 
exclude  small  pieces  of  bric-a-brac,  books,  and  practically  everything 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


249 


which  cannot  be  worn  or  has  not  immediate  conneetion  with  the 
person.  There  is  no  minimum  limit  for  assessing  duties.  An  article 
costing  less  than  a  dollar  is  often  singled  out  for  the  assessment  of 
duty.  Blank  forms  are  distributed  before  the  arrival  of  the  steamer 
at  the  pier,  which  are  signed  by  the  passengers  in  the  presence  of  a 
customs  officer,  but  these  are  largely  a  formality.  Since  few  pas¬ 
sengers  are  familiar  with  the  705  paragraphs  of  the  tariff,  it  is  well 
for  a  returning  traveler  to  declare  that  he  is  not  aware  that  he  has 
any  articles  subject  to  duty,  and  to  submit  to  the  examination  of  his 
baggage.  This  examination  is  sometimes  very  minute,  but  usually 
more  eareless. 

Where  duties  are  levied  under  the  law  of  the  United  States,  they 
are  for  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  value  of  the  article,  and  are 
levied  at  the  price  actually  paid,  but  not  less  than  the  wholesale 
market  price.  A  person  who  has  bought  a  picture  or  a  piece  of 
bronze  at  retail  will  be  eompelled,  if  he  makes  a  truthful  declaration, 
to  pay  duty  upon  the  retail  price,  and  not  upon  the  wholesale  price 
at  which  duty  will  be  made  by  the  large  importer;  but  if  the  article 
had  been  given  to  him  without  cost,  he  will  be  required  to  pay  at 
least  the  duties  due  upon  the  wholesale  value  as  paid  by  the  im¬ 
porter. 

The  American  tariff  is  complicated,  and  levies  high  duties  upon 
clothing  of  all  kinds,  chinaware,  and  nearly  all  manufactured  articles. 
These  duties  are  of  two  kinds,  specific  and  ad  valorem.  Ad  valorem 
duties  are  levied,  as  the  meaning  of  the  Latin  words  implies,  accord¬ 
ing  to  value.  A  duty  of  60  per  cent,  ad  valorem.^  for  instance,  is  levied 
by  the  existing  tariff  upon  decorated  china.  Specific  duties  are  those 
which  are  levied  by  the  pound,  ton,  or  number  of  articles  without 
regard  to  value.  Thus,  certain  sizes  of  gloves  are  charged  a  duty  of 
$3  per  dozen  pairs,  and  other  sizes  $4  per  dozen  pairs.  These  are 
only  simple  illustrations  of  a  very  complicated  system.  The  duties  on 
many  articles  are  both  specific  and  ad  valorem,  and  the  articles  are 
classified  by  the  number  of  threads  to  the  square  inch,  and  in  other 
ways  which  enable  only  experts  to  determine  their  classification  and 
the  duties  to  be  paid.  A  person  bringing  in  a  eonsignment  of  clothing, 
bric-a-brac,  chinaware,  or  bronzes,  would,  upon  arrival  in  the  United 
States,  probably  have  to  pay  at  least  half  as  much  as  their  price  in 
duties  to  the  government,  and  very  probably  more  than  half. 

Articles  manufactured  abroad  can  be  imported  through  the  post 
office,  but  a  good  deal  of  red  tape  is  involved  in  the  process  where 
the  goods  are  subject  to  duty.  Books  in  foreign  languages  are  among 
the  few  articles  that  are  free  of  duty.  In  the  ease  of  other  articles, 
it  is  a  question  whether  they  eannot,  in  most  cases,  be  imported  to 


250 


■BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


better  advantage  through  a  dealer  than  directly  by  the  purchaser. 
When  sealed  packages,  believed  to  contain  articles  liable  to  duty,  are 
received  in  the  foreign  mails,  notice  is  sent  to  the  person  to  whom 
they  are  addressed  to  appear  at  the  post  office  and  to  there  open  them 
in  the  presence  of  an  officer  of  the  customs.  In  case  customs  officers 
are  not  accessible,  the  postmaster  is  required  to  retain  the  packages, 
after  they  are  opened  by  the  person  to  whom  addressed,  and  to  report 
the  nature  and  probable  value  of  the  contents  to  the  nearest  customs 
officer,  who  will  thereupon  notify  the  postrnaster  what  he  considers  the 
proper  duties.  Such  duties  must  be  paid  before  the  packages  are 
surrendered  to  the  owner. 

The  importation  of  merchandise  by  regular  traders  in  foreign  goods 
is  organized  upon  an  elaborate  system.  The  process  involves  a  great 
variety  of  legal  documents,  from  the  invoice,  which  is  presented  to  a 
United  States  consul  abroad  for  his  certification,  until  the  final  delivery 
of  the  goods  to  the  person  to  whom  they  are  invoiced  in  this  coun¬ 
try.  There  are  customhouse  brokers  in  New  York,  and  at  other 
important  points,  who  are  familiar  with  the  manner  of  doing  custom¬ 
house  business,  and  who  should  be  consulted  or  employed  when  such 
business  is  to  be  done  upon  any  considerable  scale.  The  tariff  laws 
are  strict  regarding  the  valuation  put  upon  imported  goods  by  the 
invoice,  and  incorrect  valuations  are  subject  to  heavy  penalty.  Goods 
on  reaching  the  United  States  pass  through  the  hands* of  several 
classes  of  customhouse  officers, —  examiners,  who  determine  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  goods;  appraisers,  who  determine  their  value;  and  com¬ 
puting  clerks,  who  determine  the  duties  which  are  due.  There  are 
methods  of  appeal  from  the  decisions  of  the  customs  officers  to  the 
board  of  general  appraisers  and  the  United  States  courts,  but  they 
necessarily  involve  delay  and  expense.  A  complete  code  of  customs 
regulations,  making  a  volume  of  nearly  eight  hundred  pages,  is  issued 
by  the  Treasury  Department,  but  it  would  require  elaborate  study  to 
enable  a  person  to  determine,  without  the  aid  of  a  lawyer  or  custom¬ 
house  broker,  all  of  the  rules  governing  importations. 

The  transfer  of  money  from  place  to  place  is  an  important  branch 
of  modern  banking.  The  sending  of  a  check  by  ordinary  mail  is 
usually  sufficient  for  the  settlement  of  obligations  at  distant  points 
within  the  United  States.  A  check  drawn  upon  one’s  own  account 
in  a  national  or  state  bank  is  usually  acceptable  for  small  amounts 
in  the  settlement  of  ordinary  transactions.  There  are  occasions,  how¬ 
ever,  where  a  certified  check,  a  cashier’s  check,*  or  a  draft  upon  a 
leading  city,  is  preferred,  and  may  be  asked  for,  by  a  creditor,  x  These 
forms  of  payment  are  more  nearly  in  the  nature  of  cash,  because 
they  are  likely  to  be  accepted  as  the  equivalent  of  cash  by  a  city 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


251 


bank.  An  individual  check  upon  a  distant  bank  rests  only  upon  the 
g-ood  faith  of  the  maker  of  the  check,  until  it  has  been  returned  for 
collection  to  the  bank  upon  which  it  is  drawn.  As  this  might  require 
a  week  or  more  between  distant  points,  a  person  making  a  payment 
which  he  desires  to  be  at  once  available,  would  better  employ  one  of 

the  other  forms  of  check,  or  a  draft.  This  may  be  important  in 

obtaining  the  immediate  shipment  of  goods,  which  might  otherwise  be 
held  back  until  an  individual  check  had  been  collected  from  the  bank 
on  which  it  was  drawn.  A  draft  drawn  upon  a  New  York  bank, 
offered  in  payment  in  the  South  or  AVest,  is  especially  acceptable, 
because  such  large  payments  have  to  be  made  by  those  sections  in 

New  York,  that  an  obligation  entitling  the  holder  to  money  at  the 

metropolis  is  often  at  a  premium.  This  is  the  nature  of  a  draft  upon 
a  New  York  bank,  whether  given  by  a  bank  close  at  hand  or  far 
removed  from  New  York. 

Sending  Money  Through  the  Post  Office 

The  postal  service  offers  facilities  for  transmitting  money  in  two 
forms, —  the  post  office  money  order  and  the  registered  letter.  Money 
orders  are  substantially  in  the  nature  of  post  office  drafts.  They  are 
issued  at  money-order  offices,  which  include  all  free  delivery  offices, 
and  about  30,000  offices  in  all,  but  do  not  include  all  of  the  small  post 
offices.  Money  orders  must  be  paid  for  in  legal-tender  currency  or  in 
national  bank  notes.  Postmasters  and  their  assistants  are  forbidden 
to  accept  checks,  drafts,  or  notes,  in  payment  of  money  orders,  and  it 
is  made  a  misdemeanor,  with  punishment  by  fine,  to  issue  a  money 
order  without  having  received  the  money  for  it.  The  charge  for  the 
issue  of  money  orders  is  graded  according  to  the  amount  of  the  or¬ 
der.  Three  cents  is  charged  on  sums  not  exceeding  $2.50;  five  cents 
on  larger  sums,  not  exceeding  $5;  eight  cents  on  orders  up  to  $10; 
ten  cents  up  to  $20;  twelve  cents  up  to  $30;  fifteen  cents  up  to  $40; 
eighteen  cents  up  to  $50;  twenty  cents  tip  to  $60;  twenty-five  cents 
up  to  $75;  and  thirty  cents  up  to  $100. 

A  money  order  is  not  issued  for  more  than  $100,  but  additional  or¬ 
ders  may  be  issued  to  the  same  person.  The  only  limit  now  imposed 
upon  such  issues  is  that  not  more  than  three  orders  for  fioo,  drawn 
upon  the  same  fourth-class  post  office,  shall  be  issued  to  one  person. 
There  is  no  limit  upon  the  orders  that  may  be  issued  when  drawn 
upon  different  offices. 

AVhen  application  is  made  for  the  issue  of  a  money  order,  the  ap¬ 
plicant  is  handed  a  printed  form  to  be  filled  out  with  the  name  and 
address  of  the  person,  and  the  amount  for  which  the  order  is  desired. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  give  the  full  and  correct  name  of  the  per- 


/ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


son  in  whose  favor  the  order  is  drawn.  The  postmaster  receives  and 
keeps  this  application,  and  himself  fills  out  the  money  order  and  de¬ 
livers  it  to  the  person  desiring  to  transmit  the  money.  This  order 
should  be  inclosed  in  an  ordinary  letter  to  the  person  to  whom  the 
money  is  to  be  paid.  The  money  order  has  a  receipt  attached,  which 
may  be  torn  off  along  the  line  of  perforation,  and  which  should  be 
retained  by  the  person  buying  the  order.  The  postmaster  where  the 
order  is  purchased,  in  the  meantime,  sends  a  notice  to  the  postmaster 
where  it  is  to  be  paid,  giving  the  names  of  the  parties.  This  is  called  . 
the  letter  of  advice,  and  it  is  the  authority  by  which  the  postmas¬ 
ter  pays  the  order  at  the  office  upon  which  it  is  drawn.  A  postmaster 
will  not  pay  a  money  order  for  which  he  has  not  received  the  ad¬ 
vice.  It  is  the  letter  of  advice  that  enables  him  to  determine  that 
the  order  has  been  properly  issued,  and  who  is  entitled  to  the  money. 
He  usually  requires  the  identification  of  the  person  presenting  the 
order.  A  great  many  money  orders  are  now  endorsed,  and  deposited 
for  collection  in  the  banks,  which  assume  the  duties  and  risks  of  cor¬ 
rect  identification  and  settle  their  accounts  in  bulk  with  the  money 
order  division  of  the  post  office. 

The  government  is  not  lawfully  liable  for  the  losses  resulting  from 
the  use  of  money  orders,  but  the  system  is  surrounded  with  such 
safeguards  that  these  losses  amount  to  little  or  nothing.  The  num¬ 
ber  of  money  orders  paid  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1900,  was 
32,467, 781,  and  their  amount  was  $248, 1 20, 285. 82.  The  amount  of  loss 
made  good  by  the  government  was  $69.45.  Other  losses, —  such  few 
as  occurred, —  were  recovered  from  the  post  office  employees  whose 
carelessness  was  responsible  for  their  wrongful  payment.  The  amount 
of  a  money  order  lost  in  the  mails  can  be  recovered  by  the  sender 
or  by  the  payee  (the  person  to  whom  the  money  is  to  be  paid)  upon 
application  at  the  issuing  office  or  at  the  office  upon  which  the  order 
is  drawn.  A  duplicate  order  is  issued  by  the  Post  Office  Department, 
free  of  cost,  and  without  unreasonable  delay,  where  it  is  desired  to 
transmit  the  order.  The  money  is  returned  to  the  person  buying  the 
order  when  this  is  preferred. 

Persons  traveling  often  buy  money  orders  payable  to  themselves. 
This  plan  has  advantages  over  carrying  large  amounts  in  currency, 
and  in  recent  years  has  been  growing  in  popularity  with  traveling 
men.  It  is  better  in  some  cases  than  carrying  drafts  or  blank  checks, 
because  a  money  order  is  more  readily  negotiable,  but  in  other  cases, 
the  drafts  or  checks  are  to  be  preferred.  The  Post  Office  Department 
makes  no  opposition  to  this  use  of  the  money-order  'system,  and  per¬ 
mits  orders  to  be  drawn  by  the  same  person  in  his  own  favor  and 
payable  at  the  office  where  they  are  drawn.  This  makes  the  money- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


253 


order  system  a  sort  of  bank  or  savings  deposit  system  of  keeping 
money  which  is  not  needed  for  immediate  use.  A  money  order 
ceases  to  be  valid  after  one  year,  but  it  is  payable  by  a  treasury 
warrant  issued  by  the  Post  Office  Department  in  Washington,  upon  be¬ 
ing  presented  for  that  purpose.  Postmasters  usually  obtain  the  sig¬ 
nature  of  the  buyer  of  an  order  upon  the  advice  where  the  order  is 
payable  to  the  buyer.  This  aids  in  comparing  the  signature  and  in 
identifying  the  person  to  whom  the  order  is  to  be  paid. 

Money  orders  are  issued  for  the  transmission  of  money  to  foreign 
countries  under  conventions  made  with  most  of  these  countries.  They 
are  called  international  money  orders  and  blanks  are  used  which 
differ  slightly  from  those  used  for  domestic  money  orders.  They  can 
be  obtained  at  most  money-order  offices. 

The  other  safeguard  afforded  by  the  government  for  the  trans¬ 
mission  by  money  applies  equally  to  anything  of  value  to  be  sent 
through  the  mails.  It  is  known  as  the  registry  system.  The  govern¬ 
ment  in  this  case  has  no  exact  information  as  to  the  contents  of 
packages  which  are  registered,  except  so  far  as  it  may  be  necessary 
to  determine  their  classification  as  mail  matter.  Large  packages  of 
currency  are  often  sent  by  banks  through  the  registered  mails,  the 
charges  for  registration  being  less  than  the  regular  charges  of  the 
express  companies.  The  registration  system  is  also  useful  for  send¬ 
ing  valuable  documents,  silverware,  or  any  merchandise  of  value. 
The  fee  for  registering  a  letter  or  package  is  eight  cents,  without 
regard  to  the  size  of  the  package  or  the  amount  of  postage  it  may 
require  upon  it.  Printed  matter  and  merchandise  may  be  sent  at 
the  regular  rates  for  such  matter,  with  the  payment  of  the  registra¬ 
tion  fee. 

Mail  matter  may  be  registered  at  any  post  office  in  the  United 
States.  A  person  desiring  to  register  a  letter  or  package,  is  required, 
not  only  to  have  the  package  properly  addressed,  but  to  write  his 
name  on  the  back  of  the  envelope  or  wrapper.  It  should  then  be 
presented  at  a  post  office  or  to  a  letter-carrier,  and  the  postmaster  is 
informed  that  it  is  desired  to  register  the  package.  A  duplicate 
receipt  will  be  written  by  the  postmaster,  or  by  the  clerk  in  charge 
of  registration,  one  copy  of  which  will  be  given  to  the  sender  of  the 
package  and  the  other .  retained  in  the  post  office.  A  person  desiring 
to  send  a  registered  letter  or  package  should  not  undertake  to  mail 
it  in  a  letter  box,  as  is  sometimes  done  by  affixing  the  proper  postage, 
or  even  by  dropping  pennies  into  the  box.  The  object  of  registra¬ 
tion  is  to  insure  complete  responsibility  in  the  passage  of  the  letter 
or  package  from  one  employee  to  another,  and  great  risk  is  run  by 


2^4  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

the  neglect  of  the  sender  to  secure  a  receipt  from  the  first  official 
who  receives  the  package. 

Registration  of  letters  by  the  regular  mail-carriers  has  recently 
been  authorized  in  all  residence  districts,  and  even  in  the  business 
districts  in  some  of  the  smaller  cities.  The  letter-carriers  are  pro¬ 
vided  with  proper  books  and  receipts  for  performing  the  same 
functions  as  the  postmaster  in  receiving  and  receipting  for  registered 
matter.  Special  arrangements  are  made  by  the  Post  Office  Depart¬ 
ment  for  registration  by  firms  and  corporations  having  large  numbers 
of  packages  to  register.  Such  establishments  are  furnished  with 
registration  books  of  their  own,  by  which  a  considerable  part  of  the 
clerical  work  is  done  by  their  own  employees;  the  receipts  are  kept 
together  in  the  book,  instead  of  being  detached.  In  such  cases,  the 
post  office  officials  verify  the  registration  blanks  and  the  packages 
presented  to  them. 

When  a  registered  letter  or  package  is  delivered  to  the  person  for 
whom  it  is  intended,  he  is  asked  by  the  postmaster  or  letter-carrier 
to  sign  a  book,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  package,  and  also  to 
sign  a  card  making  the  same  acknowledgment.  The  card  is  returned 
in  the  ordinary  mail  to  the  sender  of  the  package.  A  person  who 
fails  to  receive  such  a  card  after  a  proper  interval,  should  make  in¬ 
quiry  as  to  the  fate  of  the  package.  It  may  happen  that  the  package 
has  reached  its  destination,  but  that  the  card  has  been  lost  on  its 
return  trip.  All  such  inquiries  should  be  addressed  to  the  postmaster 
at  the  post  office  where  the  package  iS  mailed,  and  should  set  forth 
all  the  facts  regarding  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  parties,  the  time 
of  mailing,  and  any  marks  upon  the  package  which  might  serve  to 
identify  the  wrapper  in  case  it  had  been  broken  or  had  strayed  from 
its  proper  destination.  Ordinary  mail,  as  well  as  registered  mail,  is 
sometimes  lost  through  carelessness  in  writing  directions.  The  name 
of  one’s  own  city  is  often  substituted  in  haste  for  the  place  intended, 
and  other  similar  mistakes  are  made.  Letters  misdirected  in  this 
manner  are  often  recovered  through  the  skill  and  perseverance  of  the 
postal  authorities.  In  the  case  of  registered  letters,  a  law  of  1897 
authorizes  the  government  to  make  losses  good  to  an  amount  not 
exceeding  fio,  where  they  cannot  be  recovered  in  any  other  way. 


Trusts. —  Trusts  are  combinations  of  capitalists  for  the  purpose  of 
restricting  production  and  increa,sing  the  price  of  manufactures,  etc., 
in  which  the  members  of  the  trusts  are  interested.  Trusts  were  first 
introduced  by  American  capitalists,  and  are  in  principle  similar  to 
syndicates,  unions,  etc.  The  operations  of  trusts  in  the  United  States, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


255 

where  they  prevail  extensively,  were  investigated  by  a  committee  of 
the  U.  S.  Senate  which  issued  an.  adverse  report  in  1888. 

Usance.  —  The  time  allowed  by  usage  for  the  payment  of  a  bill  of 
exchange ;  any  business  custom. 

Usury. —  Usury  now  means  iniquitous  or  illegal  interest  of  any 
kind  on  money  lent.  The  Mosaic  law  forbade  a  Jew  to  take  usury 
from  a  fellow-countryman.  Greek  and  Roman  moralists  mainly  dis¬ 
approved  of  any  usury;  the  Church  Fathers,  the  Popes,  the  Canon  law 
absolutely ' forbade  it;  hence  the  Jews  had  a  kind  of  monopoly  of 
usury  at  the  Reformation.  Luther  condemned  interest,  while  Calvin 
allowed  it.  A  long  series  of  laws  was  passed  on  the  understanding  that 
usury  was  wrong,  but  admitting  many  exceptions,  the  usury  laws  thus 
doing  much  harm  and  multiplying  legal  fictions.  The  moral  question  is 
still  debated,  and  moralists  such  as  Ruskin  wax  fierce  against  the 
taking  of  interest.  But  it  may  broadly  be  said  that  modern  civiliza¬ 
tion  fully  recognizes  the  admissibility  of  fair  interest. 


% 


VALUE  OF  A  TRADE 


By  CHARLES  F.  WINGATE 

IN  THIS  industrial  age,  no  field  offers  such  a  future  for  an  energetic  and 
intelligent  youth  as  that  of  mechanics.  It  is  a  mistaken  -idea  which 
leads  so  many  boys  to  consider  it  more  genteel  to  run  errands, 
sweep  out  offices,  build  fires,  and  copy  letters,  than  to  make  hats  or  shoes, 
lay  bricks,  wield  the  saw  or  jack-plane,  handle  the  machinist’s  file,  or 
the  blacksmith’s  hammer.  A  country  which  has  produced  such  men  as 
Franklin,  Robert  Fulton,  George  Steers,  Goodyear,  Bigelow,  the  Hoe 
Brothers,  McCormick,  Carnegie,  Edison,  Ericsson,  Herreshoff,  and 
Fairbanks  should  be  proud  of  their  achievements  and  encourage  the 
rising  generation  to  emulate  their  deeds. 

The  Talmud  says:  He  who  teaches  not  his  son  a  trade  is  to  be 

regarded  as  if  he  had  taught  him  how  to  rob.^^  In  ancient  times  even 
kings  were  required  to  learn  trades;  Queen  Victoria  made  each  of  her 
family  learn  engraving,  painting,  or  needlework,  and  so  did  the  late 
Emperor  William.  Every  boy  should  be  taught  to  use  his  hands.  ^Wny 
one  who  can  learn  to  write  can  be  taught  to  draw,^^  says  Prof.  Walter 
Smith ;  and  drawing  is  the  basis  of  manual  education. 

Carlyle  says:  A  man  is  a  tool-using  animal, and  he  always  spoke 
with  reverence  of  the  bridge  which  his  father,  the  stone-mason,  erected 
at  Cromarthy.  Trade-schools  have  become  indispensable.  Manual  train¬ 
ing  counteracts  the  narrowing  effect  of  the  subdivision  which  tends  to 
make  a  workman  a  mere  machine.  General  A.  Francis  Walker  says: 
^  Manual  training  teaches  accuracy,  thoroughness,  and  develops  charac¬ 
ter.  ft  trains  the  eye,  the  hand,  and  the  brain.  There  can  be  no 
cramming  in  a  trade-school.  What  we  read  or  hear  may  be  forgotten, 
but  not  what  we  do.^'^ 

* 

A  smattering  of  book-learning  may  breed  conceit,  but  skill  with  tools 
cannot.  It  is  the  little  knowledge  that  demoralizes.  Professor  Sweet 
says:  The  workman  is  injured  by  scientific  training  when  he  thinks 
more  of  what  he  knows  than  of  how  to  apply  it.  Some  practical  men 
are  prejudiced  against  trade-schools.  Because  they  got  along  without 
such  aids,  they  think  the  boys  of  to-day  can  follow  in  their  footsteps.  In 
his  address  on  The  Artist  and  the  Artisan, Cardinal  Wiseman  showed 

I 

how  all  the  great  painters  and.  sculptors  of  the  fifteenth  century  were 
truly  artisans  as  well  as  artists.  Michelangelo  hew^ed  his  stupendous 
creations  from  the  marble ;  Benvenuto  Cellini  forged  and  molded  his 
superb  silverwork;  Titian  alone  knew  the  secret  of  mixing  his  match- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


257 


less  colors;  Raphael  was  a  master  of  brush  work.  The  prejudice 
against  trade-schools  formerly  existed  against  law  schools.  The  men  who 
scoif  at  scientific  instruction  in  a  trade  do  not  allow  for  changed  condi¬ 
tions,  or  understand  the  difference  between  teaching  a  knowledge  of 
scientific  or  mechanical  principles  and  learning  by  practice.  Most  fore¬ 
men  or  superintendents  have  not  the  time,  inclination,  or  ability,  to  teach. 
They  have  learned  to  do  many  things,  the  processes  of  which  they  can¬ 
not  explain. 

A  trade-school  teaches  the  rudiments  of  practice.  If  it  can  be 
attached  to  the  factory,  as  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  where  the  pupil  can 
enter  at  once  upon  practical  work,  so  much  the  better.  At  the  Baldwin 
Locomotive  Works,  in  Philadelphia,  the  pupils  from  the  Spring  Garden 
Institute  are  placed  under  a  veteran  workman.  A  boy  with  six  months’ 
training  ranks  as  high  as  one  who  has  had  a  year’s  shop  practice.  In 
the  trade-schools  in  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  Chicago, 
are  taught  carpentry,  bricklaying,  plumbing,  plastering,  metal  and  sheet 
cornice-work,  stone-cutting,  fresco-painting,  decorating,  and  electrical 
work.  Most  of  the  graduates  earn  good  wages.  A  number  are  master- 
mechanics.  Many  of  the  pupils  have  worked  in  shops  and  seek  to  im¬ 
prove  themselves  in  some  special  line.  They  make  rapid  progress  be¬ 
cause  they  know  just  what  they  want  to  learn. 

The  graduates  from  the  English  technical  schools  earn  high  wages. 
One  young  graduate  received  more  than  his  father  and  two  brothers 
together.  , 

By  the  testimony  of  workmen  themselves,  increased  skill  and  aptitude 
come  from  education,  and  the  superior  workman  performs  his  work  with 
less  labor  than  his  fellows.  Manual  skill  also  breeds  self-respect.  An 
English  artisan  may  sit  in  parliament,  but  a  man  servant  has  no  higher 
ambition  than  to  keep  a  public  house. 

Few  persons  can  study  alone.  They  need  the  stimulus  which  comes 
from  contact  with  other  students,  and  also  the  guidance  of  a  trained 
teacher.  Manual  training  also  needs  special  appliances  and  apparatus 
such  as  the  ordinary  shop  or  factory  does  not  possess.  Not  every  begin¬ 
ner  becomes  a  skilled  workman,  but  no  more  does  every  law  student 
become  a  Marshall  or  an  Evarts,  or  every  clerk  become  a  Stewart  or  an 
Astor.  Many  young  mechanics  have  been  benefited  by  taking  the  course 
at  some  Correspondence  School,  which  has  been  most  helpful  in  many 
ways,  both  to  beginners  and  to  older  men. 

A  boy  should  not  be  repelled  by  the  drudgery  of  a  trade,  or  be  afraid 
of  soiling  his  fingers.  The  doctor,  the  lawyer,  and  the  clergyman  each 
have  to  perform  disagreeable  service,  but  they  do  not  complain.  To 
dress  a  wound,  visit  squalid  homes,  or  defend  criminals  in  court,  is  not 
pleasant  work,  yet  it  must  be  done  by  some  one.  A  youth  need  not 

13—17 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


258 

waste  a  single  hour  in  mere  drudgery  in  mastering  a  trade,  because  he 
will  gain  benefit  from  every  experience.  Foreign  workmen  have  gener¬ 
ally  better  preparatory  training  than  Americans,  but  they  are  less  versa¬ 
tile.  John  Lafarge  considers  that  a  first-class  American  mechanic  has  no 
superior. 

A  boy  who  means  to  become  a  mechanic  should  not  change  from  one 
trade  to  another.  The  shoemaker  must  stick  to  his  last.  As  Caleb 
Garth  says  in  Middlemarch,^^  You  must  be  sure  of  two  things:  You 
must  love  your  work,  and  not  always  be  looking  over  the  edge  of  it, 
wanting  your  play  to  begin;  and  the  other  is:  You  must  not  be  ashamed 
of  your  work  and  think  it  would  be  more  honorable  for  you  to  be  doing 
something  else.^^ 

Every  young  mechanic  should  take  a  scientific  or  trade  journal  which 
contains  the  latest  and  best  ideas  about  each  trade.  The  isolated  artisan 
in  some  factory,  town,  or  village,  who  reads  the  trade  journals,  feels  him¬ 
self  linked  by  sympathy  and  self-interest  with  his  fellow-craftsmen. 
They  supply  a  vehicle  for  discussion  and  for  advancing  knowledge  in 
every  department.  That  they  are  so  widely  read  and  quoted  is  a  proof 
of  their  value. 

■  In  choosing  a  trade  a  preference  should  be  given  to  a  healthful  occu¬ 
pation.  Indoor  work  is  not  so  wholesome  as  outdoor  work.  The  brick¬ 
layer  or  mason  lives  longer  than  the  mill  hand.  The  man  in  the  chemical 
factory  is  more  exposed  to  disease  than  the  machinist  or  the  carpenter. 
The  plumber  has  to  work  about  sewers  and  drains,  and  must  be  careful. 
The  cigar  maker  in  the  small  shop  is  worse  off  than  if  in  a  factory  with 
large  rooms  and  plenty  of  windows.  Working  in  constrained  positions, 
as  dressmakers,  tailors,  shoemakers,  and  others,  do,  cuts  down  the  average 
length  of  life.  Blacksmiths  are  very  healthy,  as  are  letter-carriers,  whose 
exercise  is  the  best  and  most  natural  that  can  be  taken.  Butchers  do 
not  live  long,  being  poisoned  by  the  exhalations  of  the  slaughterhouses. 
Printers  are  short  lived.  Persons  who  work  in  high  temperatures,  as, 
for  instance,  bakers,  cooks,  .smelters  of  ores,  and  operators  in  many  parts 
of  woolen  mills,  are  apt  to  suffer  from  ill  health.  Lives  of  miners  are 
less  than  the  average  length.  Engineers  in  charge  of  boilers,  who  spend 
most  of  their  time  in  cellars,  are  not  as  a  class  long  lived. 

The  commercial  world  is  over  crowded  and  competition  cuts  down 
salaries  to  the  lowest  point.  An  ordinary  clerk  earns  less  than  a  first- 
class  mechanic.  He  is  less  independent  and  has  not  as  good  prospects. 
An  average  clerk  does  not  require  special  ability,  but  a  mechanic  must 
be  intelligent,  and,  if  he  is  industrious  and  observing,  he  improves  daily. 
While  machinery  has  thrown  many  workmen  out  of  employment,  im¬ 
migration  has  displaced  thousands  of  clerks.  A  mechanic  with  a  kit  of 
tools  and  enough  money  to  hire  a  basement  or  a  loft  may  start  on  his 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


259 

own  account,  or  he  may  work  at  home.  If  he  has  energy  and  friends,  he 
will  have  little  trouble  in  getting  along.  More  mechanics  than  clerks 
own  their  homes.  They  get  more  enjoyment  and  comfort  out  of  life, 
and  they  leave  their  families  better  provided  for.  The  mechanic’s  social 
position  compares  favorably  with  that  of  the  clerk.  Even  the  much  abused 
plumber  is  now  a  sanitary  engineer,  and  the  tinsmith  is  a  man  of  stand¬ 
ing,  while  many  other  callings  have  gained  in  dignity  and  independence. 

Through  building  associations,  all  over  the  country,  thousands  of 
wage  earners  escape  paying  rent  and  are  sure  of  a  roof  over  their  heads. 
Like  Longfellow’s  Village  Blacksmith,  ^Hhey  look  the  whole  world  in 
the  face,  for  they  owe  not  any  man.  If  a  mechanic  has  any  business 
faculty,  he  may  start  a  shop  for  himself.  Most  of  the  heads  of  manufac¬ 
tories,  and  the  majority  of  builders  and’ contractors  of  the  United  States, 
have  risen  from  the  ranks.  Mr.  Carnegie’s  thirty  partners  in  the  steel 
industry  began  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  and  won  promotion  by  merit. 
There  is  an  unlimited  demand  for  capable  foremen  and  superintendents 
in  industrial  establishments;  men  who  are  fitted  for  such  positions  usually 
find  them. 

Governor  Pingree,  of  Michigan,  began  life  cutting  leather  soles  ten 
hours  a  day  for  four  dollars  a  week.  Judge  W.  McHugh,  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  of  Nebraska,  was  a  cobbler,  and  Judge  Charles 
Daniels,  of  Buffalo,  was  a  shoemaker  in  early  life.  Admiral  Sampson 
was  the  son  of  a  farm  laborer,  and  his  early  life  was  full  of  hardship. 
Ezra  Cornell,  the  founder  of  Cornell  University,  was  the  son  of  a  New 
Jersey  Quaker,  and  in  his  youth  followed  the  pottery  trade.  Austin  Cor> 
bin  was  a  farmer’s  son,  brought  up  to  toil.  He  earned  enough  to  pay  for 
his  own  education,  started  in  business  in  a  small  way,  worked  hard,  and 
reaped  the  reward.  The  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  left 
fatherless  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  had  to  earn  his  own  living  at  seven¬ 
teen.  He  learned  to  plow  as  straight  a  furrow  and  to  thresh  as  well  as 
any  man  in  the  parish. 

To  conclude,  the  man  who  makes  something  always  has  an  ad¬ 
vantage  over  the  dealer  who  buys  and  sells,  or  the  professional  man 
who  gives  advice.  People  must  have  clothes,  shoes,  furniture,  and 
houses,  and  the  services  of  the  artisan  will  always  be  in  demand. 
The  field  of  invention  offers  boundless  opportunities  for  the  ingen¬ 
ious.  New  lands  are  being  opened  up  and  new  industries  developed. 
Therefore,  the  skilled  hand-workmen  need  have  no  fear  of  not  finding 
steady  and  profitable  employment.  At  present  the  most  prominent 
field  in  mechanics  is  electricity,  but  the  whole  industrial  world  is  open 
to  young  men  of  capacity  and  character. 

Vendee. —  One  to  whom  something  is  sold. 

Vendor.  —  A  seller. 

Void. —  That  which  is  of  no  legal  effect. 


WAGES  EASILY  CALCULATED  — On  a  Basis  of  Ten  Hours’  Labor  per  Day 


260 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


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To  find  wages  at  $13,  $14,  $15,  $16,  or  more,  per  week,  find  the  amount  at  $6.50,  $7,  $7.50,  $8,  etc.,  and  multiply  by  a. 


26i 


WHAT  SHALL  I  DO? 

By  ORISON  SWETT  M ARDEN 

The  hen,  with  all  her  clucking,  cannot  keep  the  duckling  from  the  water,  nor 
the  eaglet  from  the  air.  —Lyman  Abbott. 

To  BUSINESS  that  we  love,  we  rise  betimes. 

And  go  to  it  with  delight. 

—  Shakespeare. 

The  high  prize  of  life,  the  crowning  fortune  of  a  man,  is  to  be  born  with  a 
bias  to  some  pursuit,  which  finds  him  in  employment  and  happiness. 

—  Emerson. 

WHAT  can  I  do  best  ?  In  what  capacity  can  I  best  serve  my  fellow- 
man,  and  develop  to  the  utmost  my  own  highest  powers  ?  These 
are  the  searching  questions  that  confront  each  young  man  and 
woman  on  the  threshold  of  life.  The  answer  not  only  involves  the  welfare 
or  misery  of  the  individual,  but  directly  affects  the  progress  of  the  world, 
for  civilization  can  only  reach  high-water  mark  when 
eaeh  man  and  woman  has  chosen  his  or  her  proper 
work. 

While  it  is  true  that  — 

There’s  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends. 

Rough-hew  them  how  we  will,^^  — 

our  whole  happiness  and  the  sum  of  our  use¬ 
fulness  to  society  depend  upon  our  discover¬ 
ing  early  in  life  to  what  end  that  divinity  is 
shaping  us.  If  we  work  with  it,  our  lives  will 
fulfill  the  purpose  of  our  being;  we  shall  contrib¬ 
ute  to  the  world’s  work  our  full  quota  of  the 
best  that  we  can  give.  Whether  we  do  great  things 
or  small,  whether  we  win  fame  or  wealth,  or  remain 
unnoticed  in  some  humble  niehe  to  which  nature  has  assigned 
us,  no  vieissitudes  of  fate  or  fortune  ean  rob  us  of  the  joy  of  living  a 
complete  life,  no  one  can  take  from  us  the  satisfaetion  of  knowing  that 
we  have  honorably  acquitted  ourselves  in  the  only  sphere  we  could  ade¬ 
quately  fill.  If  we  work,  conseiously  or  unconsiously,  in  opposition  to  it, 
we  grope  in  darkness  throughout  our  lives. 

Mozart,  when  but  four  years  old,  played  the  clavichord,  and  composed 
minuets  and  other  pieces.  At  the  same  age,  Charles  Kingsley  preached 
his  first  sermon,  to  a  congregation  of  chairs, 


262 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


To  the  youth  whose  talent  or  genius  is  so  marked  that  he  can  hardly 
make  a  mistake  in  choosing,  the  question  presents  no  difficulties,  but, 
unfortunately,  most  of  us,  in  the  formative  period  of  life,  show  no  strong 
indication  of  what  we  can  best  do.  Still,  even  those  who  have  no  spe¬ 
cial  bent,  as  a  rule  possess  certain  traits  and  tendencies  which,  if  care¬ 
fully  fostered,  will  assist  in  finding  their  right  places  in  the  world.  The 
time  will  come  when  there  will  be  institutions  for  determining  the  nat¬ 
ural  bent  of  the  boy  and  girl;  where  men  of  large  experience  and  close 
observation  will  study  the  natural  inclination  of  the  youth,  help  him  to 
find  where  his  greatest  strength  lies,  and  how  to  use  it  to  the  best  advan¬ 
tage.  Even  if  we  take  for  granted,  what  is  not  true,  that  every  youth  will 
sooner  or  later  discover  the -line  of  his  greatest  strength,  the  discovery 
is  often  made  so  late  in  life  that  great  success  is  practically  impossible. 
Such  institutions  would  help  boys  and  girls  to  start  in  their  proper 
careers  early  in  life ;  and  an  early  choice  shortens  the  way.  Can  anything 
be  more  important  to  human  beings  than  a  beginning  in  life  in  the  right 
direction,  where  even  small  effort  will  count  for  more  in  the  race  than 
the  greatest  effort  —  and  a  life  of  drudgery  —  in  the  wrong  direction  ? 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  majority  of  parents,  whose  power  to  make 
or  mar  the  child’s  future  is  incalculable,  have  no  conception  of  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  resting  upon  them  in  shaping  and  guiding  the  lives  of  their 
boys  and  girls.  Every  year  the  prospects  of  thousands  of  young  people 
are  ruined  through  the  ignorance  or  injudicious  supervision  of  fathers 
and  mothers  who  love  them  better  than  their  own  lives. 

If  the  father  is  A  and  the  mother  is  says  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
the  child  is  not  necessarily  AB ;  and  yet  parents  think  it  must  be  so. 
There  is  a  whole  generation  behind  father  and  mother;  and  they  are 
nothing,  often,  but  a  lens  that  catches  the  scattered  rays  of  light,  and 
brings  them  to  a  focus. 

The  career  of  Laurens  Alma-Tadema  came  near  being  ruined  by  the 
mother  who  idolized  him.  In  obedience  to  her  wishes,  he  tried  to  pre¬ 
pare  himself  for  the  profession  of  the  law,  but  the  struggle  between  the 
youth’s  inborn  passion  for  art  and  his  anxiety  to  do  what  he  believed  his 
duty  toward  his  widowed  parent  undermined  his  health. 

His  strength  gave  way  completely,  and  the  doctors  who  attended 
him  gave  it  as  their  verdict  that  his  days  were  numbered.  Anxious  that 
his  few  remaining  months  of  life  should  be  as  happy  as  possible,  his 
mother’s  resolution  at  length  gave  way,  and  young  Tadema  was  given 
his  heart’s  desire.  The  fierce  struggle  over,  he  soon  regained  his 
health;  and,  following  his  natural  bent,  he  became' one  of  our  greatest 
modern  painters. 

Ignorant  parents  compelled  the  boy  Arkwright  to  become  a  barber’s 
apprentice,  but  nature  had  locked  up  in  his  brain  a  cunning  device  des- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


263 

lined  to  bless  humanity,  and  do  the  drudgery  of  millions  of  England’s 
poor ;  so  he  must  needs  say  hands  off  even  to  his  parents,  as  Christ 
said  to  His  mother:  ^^Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my  Father’s 
business  ? 

Schiller  was  sent  to  study  surgery  in  the  military  school  at  Stuttgart, 
but,  in  secret,  he  produced  his  first  great  play,  The  Robbers.  The 
irksomeness  of  his  prison-like  school  so  galled  him,  and  his  longing  for 
authorship  so  allured  him,  that  he  ventured  penniless  into  the  inhospi¬ 
table  world  of  letters,  where  he  soon  made  himself  an  immortal  name. 

The  father  of  Ole  Bull  would  have  smothered  the  boy’s  genius  to 
make  him  an  unsuccessful  minister,  as  Dr.  Handel  would  have  quenched 
the  aspirations  of  his  son  to  make  him  a  poor  lawyer. 

It  is  astonishing,  considering  the  fact  that  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
human  race  is  wrecked  by  misfit  occupations,  that  parents  should  con¬ 
tinue  to  consider  their  own  preferences  and  interests  in  helping  a  boy  or 
girl  to  choose  a  career,  rather  than  the  child’s  fitness.  Instead  of  thwart¬ 
ing  the  development  of  pronounced  natural  gifts  of  their  children,  they 
should  make  it  a  special  aim  to  discover,  if  possible,  their  real  bent. 
The  question  the  parent  should  ask  is  not  What  do  I  wish  my  child  to 
do  ?  but  What  is  he  best  fitted  for  ?  What  indications  has  nature 
given  in  his  mental  and  physical  make-up  as  to  the  calling  he  should 
follow  ? 

One  of  the  most  unfortunate  phases  of  the  question  of  parents  choos¬ 
ing  callings  for  their  children  is  that,  the  more  dutiful  the  boy  or  girl, 
the  finer  the  nature,  the  more  likely  they  are  not  to  assert  themselves, 
but  to  acquiesce  quietly  in  the  desire  of  the  parents.  Some  of  the  sad¬ 
dest  tragedies  in  human  life  have  been  enacted  by  reason  of  parents 
compelling  their  children  to  go  contrary  to  nature’s  bidding.  There 
are  few  more  pathetic  stories  than  that  of  Thomas  Edwards,  the  born 
naturalist,  who  might  have  been,  perhaps,  greater  than  Agassiz,  had  not 
the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  both  parents  and  teachers  crippled  and 
dwarfed  his  life.  Condemned  as  he  was  to  a  cobbler’s  bench,  he  yet 
succeeded  in  collecting  and  classifying  an  incredible  number  of  valuable 
specimens. 

I  felt  that  I  was  in  the  world  to  do  something,  said  Whittier,  and 
thought  I  must.^^  You  are  in  the  world  to  do  something,  and  the 
time  has  now  come  for  you  to  discover  what  that  something  is.  If  you 
are  not  among  the  fortunate  ones  whose  callings  have  chosen  them,  you 
must  think  and  study  yourself,  and,  most  of  all,  note  well  wherein 
nature  meant  you  to  excel. 

Many  young  persons,  says  Robert  Waters,  ^^are  in  an  uncertain 
state  of  mind  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  natural  abilities,  and 
on  this  account  find  it  difficult  to  fix  upon  the  profession  or  calling  which 


264 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


they  are  to  follow  for  life.  This  feeling  is  by  no  means  unnatural ;  it  is 
the  struggle  of  youth  toward  manhood  and  maturity.  Only  prodigies 
know  from  the  start  what  they  are  best  able  to  do.  The  mental  powers 
of  every  young  person  are  in  constant  process  of  development,  and  it  is 
only  after  a  certain  stage  of  this  development  that  one  can  plainly  see 
wherein  his  strength  lies.  Sometimes  a  man  tries  two  or  three  profes¬ 
sions  before  he  finds  the  proper  one,  or  the  career  for  which  he  is  best 
fitted.  This  happens  not  only  with  men  of  ordinary,  but  with  men  of 
extraordinary ,  ability . 

As  a  rule,  what  one  likes  best  to  do,  is  apt  to  be  his  forte.  Shakes¬ 
peare  was  right  when  he  said :  — 

profit  flows  where  is  no  pleasure  ta’en; 

In  brief,  sir,  study  what  you  most  affect.® 

Study  yourself  carefully,  your  tastes  and  temperament.  Retire  to 
the  inner  chamber  of  your  soul,  shut  out  all  thoughts  of  what  others 
may  have  urged  upon  you,  the  suggestions  of  overfond  or  ambitious 
parents,  of  admiring  classmates,  of  well-meaning,  but,  it  may  be,  mis¬ 
taken  friends,  that  you  may  become,  if  you  will,  a  great  teacher,  clergy¬ 
man,  orator,  physician,  architect,  or  engineer.  Ask  yourself  whether 
your  thoughts  incline  strongly  to  any  of  the  suggested  callings.  If  they 
do,  let  your  next  question  be :  Has  nature  given  me  any  of  the  qualifi¬ 
cations  necessary  for  success  in  such  a  career  ?  Can  I  persevere  to  the 
end,  in  spite  of  hard  work,  difficulties,  and  disappointments,  in  prepar¬ 
ing  myself  to  fulfil  adequately  the  duties  of  this  position  ?  ®  Do  you 
long  to  find  yourself  amid  the  bustle  and  hum  of  a  great  city  ?  ^  Have 
you  a  faculty  for  buying  and  selling,  with  commercial  instincts  and  tend¬ 
encies  ?  Or  do  you  incline  to  the  tranquil  life  of  the  country  ?  Are 
you  happy  on  the  farm  ?  Do  you  like  to  handle  mechanics’  tools,  to 
plane,  and  saw,  and  drill  ?  Have  you  some  skill  in  drawing?  Do  you 
like  to  collect  and  examine  insects  of  all  kinds  ?  Do  you  like  to  solve 
problems  in  arithmetic  and  geometry,  or  do  you  prefer  to  memorize  and 
declaim  favorite  poems  or  speeches  ?  Do  you  like  to  impart  to  others 
the  information  you  have  acquired  by  reading  or  study,  and  are  you  suc¬ 
cessful  in  doing  so  ? 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  questions  you  must  ask  yourself  in  trying 
to  determine  what  nature  intended  you  for.  Look  over  all  the  occupa¬ 
tions  and  professions  you  know  of,  and  ask  yourself  if  nature  has  given 
you  qualifications  which,  if  developed,  would  make  you  successful  in  any 
of  them. 

It  is  not  for  you  to  ask  whether  you  have  the  ability  of  a  Webster  or 
a  Lincoln,  but  the  great  question  for  you  to  settle  is,  What  position  am 
I  fitted  for  ?  ®  and  you  should  lose  no  time  in  getting  into  that  position. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


265 


In  choosing-  an  occupation,  do  not  ask  yourself  how  you  can  make 
the  most  money  or  gain  the  most  notoriety,  but  choose  that  work  which 
will  call  out  all  your  powers  and  develop  your  manhood  into  the  greatest 
strength  and  symmetry.  Not  money,  not  notoriety,  not  fame  even,  but 
power,  is  what  you  want.  Manhood  is  greater  than  wealth,  grander 
than  fame.  Character  is  greater  than  any  career.  Each  faculty  must 
be  educated,  and  any  deficiency  in  its  training  will  appear  in  whatever 
you  do.  The  hand  must  be  educated  to  be  graceful,  steady,  and  strong. 
The  eye  must  be  educated  to  be  alert,  discriminating,  and  microscopic. 
The  heart  must  be  educated  to  be  tender,  sympathetic,  and  true.  The 
memory  must  be  drilled  for  years  in  accuracy,  retention,  and  compre¬ 
hensiveness.  The  world  does  not  demand  that  you  be  a  lawyer,  minis¬ 
ter,  doctor,  farmer,  scientist,  or  merchant.  It  does  not  dictate  what  you 
shall  do,  but  it  does  require  that  you  be  a  master  in  whatever  you  under¬ 
take.  If  you  are  a  master  in  your  line,  the  world  will"  applaud  you  and 
all  doors  will  fly  open  to  you.  But  the  world  condemns  all  botches, 
abortions,  and  failures.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  many  of  the  Paris 
cabmen  are  either  unsuccessful  students  in  theology  and  other  profes¬ 
sions,  or  disfrocked  priests.  They  are  very  bad  cabmen. 

No  man  can  be  highly  successful,  or  of  great  value  to  the  world,  un¬ 
til  he  finds  his  place.  Like  a  locomotive,  he  is  strong  on  the  track,  but 
weak  in  any  other  place.  Like  a  boat  on  a  river,  says  Emerson, 
every  boy  runs  against  obstructions  on  every  side  but  one.  On  that 
side  all  obstructions  are  taken  away,  and  he  sweeps  serenely  over  a  deep¬ 
ening  channel  into  an  infinite  seaP^ 

To  those  who  fear  that  they  are  handicapped  by  inherited  traits  or 
environment,  I  would  suggest  the  memorizing  and  frequent  repetition  of 
Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox’s  soul-stirring  lines:  — 

I  care  not  who  were  vicious  back  of  me, 

No  shadow  of  their  sins  on  me  is  shed. 

My  will  is  greater  than  heredity; 

I  am  no  worm  to  feed  upon  the  dead. 

My  face,  my  form,  my  gestures,  and  my  voice 
.May  be  reflections  from  a  race  that  was; 

But  this  I  know,  and,  knowing  it,  rejoice; 

I  am,  myself,  a  part  of  the  Great  Cause. 

I  am  a  spirit  !  Spirit  would  suffice, 

If  rightly  used,  to  set  a  chained  world  free. 

Am  I  not  stronger  than  a  mortal  vice 

That  crawls  the  length  of  some  ancestral  tree?^^ 

Constant  growth  toward  perfection  should  be  the  goal  of  all  our 
efforts.  In  choosing  your  life-work,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
this  end  be  kept  in  view* 


266 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Before  deciding  on  your  vocation,  study  the  men  and  women  engaged  in 
the  work  you  think  of  adopting.  Does  it  elevate  those  who  follow  it  ?  Are 
they  broad,  liberal,  intelligent  ?  Or  have  they  become  mere  appendages 
of  their  profession,  living  in  a  rut,  with  little  standing  in  the  community. 
Don’t  think  you  will  be  the  great  exception,  and  can  enter  a  questionable 
vocation  without  becoming  a  creature  of  it.  In  spite  of  all  your  deter¬ 
mination  and  will  power  to  the  contrary,  your  occupation,  from  the  very 
law  of  association  and  habit,  will  seize  you  as  in  a  vise,  will  mold  you, 
shape  you,  fashion  you,  and  stamp  its  inevitable  impress  upon  you. 

Select  a  clean,  useful,  honorable  occupation.  If  there  is  any  doubt 
on  this  point,  abandon  it  at  once,  for  familiarity  with  bad  business  will 
make  it  seem  good.  Choose  a  business  that  has  expansiveness  in  it. 
Some  kinds  of  business  a  Gould  could  not  make  successful,  nor  a  Pea¬ 
body  respectable.  Choose  an  occupation  which  will  develop  you,  elevate 
you,  and  give  you  a  chance  for  self-improvement  and  promotion.  Many 
a  man  has  dwarfed  his  manhood,  cramped  his  intellect,  crushed  his 
aspiration,  blunted  his  finer  sensibilities,  in  some  mean,  narrow  occupa¬ 
tion,  just  because  there  was  money  in  it. 

At  one  period  of  his  career,  Faraday  had  to  choose  definitely  between 
wealth  and  science  as  the  object  of  his  life.  The  result  of  his  choice  is 
thus  summed  up  by  Professor  Tyndall  in  his  memoir  of  the  great  scien¬ 
tist  :  Taking  the  duration  of  his  life  into  account,  this  son  of  a  black¬ 
smith,  and  apprentice  to  a  bookbinder,  had  to  decide  between  a  fortune 
of  150,000  pounds  sterling  on  the  one  side,  and  his  unendowed  science 
on  the  other.  He  chose  the  latter,  and  died  a  poor  man.  But  his  was 
the  glory  of  holding  aloft  among  the  nations  the  scientific  name  of  Eng¬ 
land  for  a  period  of  forty  years. 

No  business  that  is  evil  in  its  nature  and  influence,  says  a 
writer,  can  be  a  man’s  true  calling.  No  one  can  afford  to  follow  an  oc¬ 
cupation  of  which  he  is,  with  reason,  ashamed.  True  dignity,  pleasure, 
and  peace  are  utterly  impossible  to  him  who  voluntarily  engages  in 
labor  that  debases  himself  and  others,  or  a  work  that  tends  directly  to 
poison  human  enjoyment  and  to  destroy  the  welfare  and  usefulness  of  his 
fellow-men;  hence,  whatever  is  hurtful  and  corrupting  is  to  be  shunned 
as  a  deadly  plague.  Money  and  flattery  and  luxury  and  honor  may 
seem,  for  a  time,  to  compensate  for  the  evils  occasioned  and  the  injuries 
inflicted  by  a  disreputable  and  degrading  occupation,  but  soon  or  late 
specious  delusion  will  be  dispelled,  the  baneful  consequences  will  appear, 
and  the  da3’’S  and  nights  of  self-reproach  and  bitter  remorse  will  come. 

One  of  the  most  important  considerations  in  the  choice  of  a  calling 
is  its  effect  upon  health.  Success  and  the  highest  efficiency  in  any  voca-. 
tion  depend  almost  equally"  on  a  sound  mind  and  a  healthy  body.  It  is 
imperative,  therefore,  in  choosing  a  career,  that  you  study  your  physical 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


267 


make-up  and  tendencies,  as  carefully  as  you  do  your  mental  qualities  and 
inclinations.  There  are  many  boys,  for  instance,  who  are  well  qualified 
mentally  and  by  natural  bent  for  the  life  of  a  physician,  but  who  are  ren¬ 
dered  thoroughly  unfit  for  it  by  their  lack  of  staying  qualities  or  physical 
endurance.  They  could  not  stand  the  strain  for  a  single  year,  and  it  would 
be  suicidal  for  them  to  enter  that  profession.  A  girl  might  be  admir¬ 
ably  adapted,  both  mentally  and  by  training,  for  the  office  of  a  teacher, 
and  yet,  because  of  a  nervous,  excitable  temperament,  be  effectually 
barred  out  from  a  position  in  which  patience  and  absolute  self-control 
are  essential. 

People  who  have  weak  or  defective  sight  should  be  very  careful 
about  entering  occupations  such  as  bookkeeping,  engraving,  dressmak¬ 
ing,  proof-reading,  or  others  that  require  close  and  constant  use  of  the 
eyes.  Many  young  men  and  women  who  would  be  well  and  happy,  per¬ 
haps,  on  the  farm  they  despised,  or  in  some  active  outdoor  work,  have 
ruined  health  and  happiness  behind  a  counter  in  the  city,  or  in  some  sed¬ 
entary  occupation  against  which  Nature  —  wiser  than  they  —  had  en¬ 
tered  her  protest.  Those  with  delicate  lungs  should  not  engage  in  callings 
in  which  they  are  compelled  to  inhale  dust  of  stones  or  iron,  as  in  the 
grinding  of  cutlery  and  tools.  They  should  not  work  in  grain  ele¬ 
vators,  or  in  any  position  in  which  they  are  compelled  to  inhale  dust 
which  irritates  the  delicate  lining  of  the  lung  cells.  A  man  of  an  ex¬ 
tremely  nervous  or  irritable  temperament  should  not  engage  in  an  occu¬ 
pation  which  would  tend  to  aggravate  that  weakness.  He  should  not 
put  himself  in  a  position  where  the  rasping  and  tearing  down  process 
would  have  power  to  wreck  his  nervous  system.  Harmony  increases  the 
life-force,  but  discord  impairs  it;  all  discord  tends  not  only  to  shorten 
life,  but  also  to  impair  one’s  efficiency.  Get  into  harmony,  whatever  you 
do ;  do  not  allow  yourself  to  work  in  discordant  environment  if  you  can 
possibly  avoid  it. 

Geikie  says:  You  may  win  in  one  way,  and  lose  in  another.  You 
may  buy  gold  too  dear;  if  you  give  health  for  it,  you  make  a  poor  bar¬ 
gain.  If  you  sell  your  freedom  for  it,  you  give  pearls  for  a  bauble.  If 
you  give'your  soul  for  it, —  your  self-respect,  your  peace,  your  manhood, 
your  character, —  you  pay  too  much  for  it.^^ 

How  did  you  find  your  place  ?  asked  a  friend  of  George  Peabody. 

didn’t  find  it,'^  was  the  reply;  ^Ghe  place  found  me.^^  The  average 
boy  and  girl  are  like  the  famous  banker  in  this  respect.  Their  places 
find  them.  Most  of  us  do  not  choose  our  vocations.  Accident,  chance, 
environment,  location  of  birthplace,  poverty,  lack  of  early  opportunities 
or  education,  generally  have  more  to  do  with  our  position  in  life  than 
free  choice.  Apparent  trifles  often  change  an  entire  destiny.  An  acci¬ 
dental  glance  at  a  book,  a  single  lecture,  a  sermon,  or  a  chance  remark, 


■  268 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


a  little  encouragement,  or  some  sudden  emergency,  has  in  many  instances 
been  the  determining  factor  in  a  life. 

Most  men, says  Real,  are  like  plants.  They  possess  properties 
which  chance  discovers.  Many  men  have  not  been  conscious  even  of  their 
own  ability  or  genius  until  some  fortunate  circumstance  helped  them  to 
discover  themselves.  Some  time  ago,  a  New  York  paper  published  an 
account  of  the  careers  of  six  successful  theatrical  managers  who  came 
to  their  occupation  by  mere  accident.  Lord  Erskine,  the  great  English 
advocate,  spent  some  years  in  the  navy;  but,  being  dissatisfied  with  that 
profession,  he  entered  the  army.  One  day,  his  regiment  happened  to 
be  quartered  in  a  town  where  court  was  held.  He  sauntered  into  the 
court-house  while  court  was  in  session,  and,  much  to  his  surprise,  was 
invited  to  a  seat  on  the  bench  by  the  presiding  judge,  who  chanced  to 
recognize  him.  The  young  soldier  was  so  stirred  by  what  he  considered 
the  commonplace  pleadings  of  the  lawyers  that  he  made  up  his  mind  that 
he  could  do  as  well  as  that  himself,  and  immediately  began  the  study  of 
law,  which  resulted  in  his  becoming  one  of  the  greatest  forensic  orators 
the  world  ever  knew. 

Large  numbers  of  people  are  as  unconscious  of  their  strong  points 
as  they  are  of  their  weak  ones.  A  man  or  a  woman  may  be  born  with  a 
strong  talent  or  genius  for  some  special  line,  and  yet  be  utterly  uncon¬ 
scious  of  it.  A.  T.  Stewart  was  educated  for  the  ministry,  and  an  idea 
which  an  old  uncle  had  instilled  into  his  mind,  that  a  call  is  necessary  to 
success  in  life,  clung  to  him  so  tenaciously  that  he  became  almost  dis¬ 
couraged  because  he  could  not  hear  this  call.  He  tried  school-teaching, 
but  was  not  satisfied,  and  might  never  have  found  his  real  calling  had  he 
not  loaned  to  a  friend  who  was  anxious  to  start  in  business  the  sum  of 
seventy  dollars,  the  accumulation  of  his  savings.  The  young  business 
man  did  not  succeed  in  his  venture,  and,  not  having  the  money  to  pay 
Stewart  the  loan  which  he  had  so  kindly  advanced,  he  begged  him  to  take, 
in  its  stead,  the  little  shop,  the  only  means  of  payment  in  his  possession. 
Stewart  took  the  unpretentious  store,  and  became  a  merchant  prince. 

Wilson,  the  famous  ornithologist,  failed  in  five  professions  before 
he  found  his  proper  place.  Barnum  tried  fourteen  occupations  before 
he  ascertained  that  he  was  a  born  showman.  Josh  Billings  failed  as  a 
farmer  and  auctioneer,  but  found  himself  as  much  at  home  in  comic 
literature  as  a  fish  in  water.  Phillips  Brooks  failed  as  a  teacher  in  the 
Boston  Latin  School. 

Grant,  the  tanner,  who  failed  at  Galena,  and  Grant,,  the  soldier,  who 
won  some  of  the  greatest  battles  of  the  world,  would  seem  like  two 
widely  different  men  if  his  story  were  not  so  familiar. 

Garfield  would  not  have  become  President  if  he  had  not  previously 
been  a  zealous  teacher,  a  responsible  soldier,  a  conscientious  statesman, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


269 


Neither  Lincoln  nor  Grant  started  as  a  baby  with  a  precocity  for  the 
White  House,  or  an  irresistible  genius  for  ruling  men.  So  no  one  should 
be  disappointed  because  he  was  not  endowed  in  the  cradle  with  great 
gifts.  His  business  is  to  do  the  best  he  can,  wherever  his  lot  may 
be  cast,  and  to  advance  at  every  honorable  opportunity  in  the  direction 
toward  which  the  inward  monitor  points.  Let  duty  be  the  guiding-star, 
and  success  will  surely  be  the  crown,  to  the  full  measure  of  one’s  ability 
and  industry. 

We  must  not  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  because  a  man  has  not  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  what  he  has  really  tried  with  all  his  might  to  do,  he  cannot 
succeed  at  anything.  Look  at  a  fish  floundering  on  the  sand  as  though 
he  would  tear  himself  to  pieces.  But  look  again;  a  huge  wave  breaks 
higher  up  the  beach,  and  covers  the  unfortunate  creature.  The  moment 
his  fins  feel  the  water,  he  is  himself  again,  and  darts  like  a  flash  through 
the  waves.  His  fins  mean  something  now,  while  before  they  beat  the 
air  and  earth  in  vain,  a  hindrance  instead  of  a  help. 

If  you  fail  after  doing  your  best,  examine  the  work  attempted, 
and  see  if  it  really  be  in  the  line  of  your  bent  or  power  of  achieve¬ 
ment.  Goldsmith  found  himself  totally  unfit  for  the  duties  of  a  physi¬ 
cian;  but  who  else  could  have  written  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield  or  the 
Deserted  Village  ?  Cowper  failed  as  a  lawyer.  He  was  so  timid  that 
he  could  not  plead  a  case,  but  he  wrote  some  of  our  finest  poems. 
Moliere  found  that  he  was  not  adapted  to  the  work  of  a  lawyer,  but  he 
left  a  great  name  in  literature.  Voltaire  and  Petrarch  abandoned  the 
law,  the  former  choosing  philosophy,  the  latter,  poetry.  Cromwell  was 
a  farmer  until  forty  years  old. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  special  call  or  talent  to  do  a  particu¬ 
lar  thing  always  manifests  itself  in  youth.  Some  people  mature  at  a 
much  later  period  than  others.  Many  men  and  women  do  not  find  their 
true  vocations  until  middle  life.  But  their  intermediate  experiences,  in 
most  instances,  prove  valuable  when  they  have  found  their  real  work. 

After  carefully  studying  yourself,  your  mental  and  physical  capac¬ 
ities,  your  disposition,  ability,  and  preferences,  and  deliberately  choos¬ 
ing  your  life-work,  never  look  back,  nor  compare  it  with  something  else 
you  might  have  done.  Unless  experience  convinces  you  that  you  have 
made  a  mistake,  and  you  feel  reasonably  certain  that  you  are  better 
fitted  to  succeed  in  some  other  calling,  abide  by  your  choice.  Throw 
yourself,  heart  and  soul,  into  your  work.  Let  nothing  swerve  you  from 
your  aim.  Do  not  let  the  difficulties  which  appear  in  every  vocation,  or 
temporary  despondency  or  disappointment,  shake  your  purpose.  You 
will  never  succeed  while  smarting  under  the  drudgery  of  your  occupation, 
if  you  are  constantly  haunted  with  the  idea  that  you  could  succeed  better 
in  something  else.  Great  tenacity  of  purpose  is  the  only  thing  that  will 


V 


2‘J6  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

carry  yon  over  the  hard  places  to  nltimate  triumph.  This  determina¬ 
tion,  or  fixity  of  purpose,  has  a  great  moral  bearing  upon  our  success, 
for  it  leads  others  to  feel  confidence  in  us;  and  this  is  everything.  It 
gives  credit  and  moral  support  in  a  thousand  ways.  People  always 
believe  in  a  man  with  a  fixed  purpose,  and  will  help  him  twice  as  quickly 
as  one  who  is  loosely  or  indifferently  attached  to  his  vocation,  and  liable 
at  any  time  to  make  a  change,  or  to  fail.  Everybody  knows  that  de¬ 
termined  men  are  not  likely  to  fail.  They  carry  in  their  very  pluck,  grit, 
and  determination,  the  conviction  and  assurance  of  success. 

Do  that  which  is  assigned  you,^^  says  Emerson,  and  you  cannot 
hope  too  much  or  dare  too  much.  There  is  at  this  moment  for  you  an 
utterance  brave  and  grand  as  that  of  the  colossal  chisel  of  Phidias  or 
trowel  of  the  Egyptians,  or  the  pen  of  Moses  or  Dante,  but  different 
from  all  these.  When  you  find  that  which  has  been  assigned  you,  you 
will  know  it.  Your  whole  being  will  respond  to  its  quickening  influence. 
You  will  encounter  obstacles  you  perhaps  never  dreamed  of;  you  will 
have  hours  of  anxiety  and  discouragement,  but,  in  the  main,  you  will  feel 
that  you  have  found  your  mission. 

When  a  man  has  found  his  place,  he  is  happy  in  it, — joyful,  cheerful, 
energetic.  The  days  are  all  too  short  for  him.  He  is  happy  because  all 
his  powers  find  exercise  in  perfect  harmony.  There  is  no  such  thing  to 
him  as  compromising  his  faculties,  no  cramping  of  legal  acumen  on  the 
farm,  no  suppressing  of  oratorical  powers  at  the  anvil,  no  stifling  of  the 
exuberance  of  physical  strength  at  the  study  desk,  no  writing  sermons  to 
put  a  congregation  to  sleep. 

The  earlier  a  young  man  or  woman  can  decide  upon  his  or  her  life- 
work,  the  better;  but  there  should  be  no  undue  haste.  Where  there  is 
no  decided  natural  bent,  the  greatest  patience  and  care  should  be  exer¬ 
cised  in  finding  out  wherein  one  is  strongest.  Too  many  young  people 
are  led  to  make  a  wrong  choice  by  a  misapplication  of  the  motto:  Where 
there’s  a  will,  there’s  a  way.  There  never  was  a  greater  fallacy  than 
that  a  man  can  be  anything  he  wills  to  be.  Be  what  nature  intended 
you  for, says  Sydney  Smith,  ^^and  you  will  succeed;  be  anything  else, 
and  you  will  be  ten  thousand  times  worse  than  nothing.  A  man  cannot 
make  himself  into  anything  he  pleases.  If  he  attempts  to  work  contrary 
to  nature,  the  result  will  be  a  botch. 

When  Leland  Stanford  was  a  boy,  his  father  told  him  that  he  could 
have  all  the  timber  on  his  land.  The  lad  contracted  with  the  railroad 
to  buy  it,  hired  wood-choppers,  and  cleared  twenty-five  hundred  dollars 
by  the  bargain.  His  instincts  were  for  business;  but  he  ignored  all 
this,  studied  law,  and  settled  in  a  lonely  part  of  Wisconsin.  He  had 
not  the  slightest  adaptability  for  law.  Fortunately  he  was  burned  out, 
lost  everything,  and  returned  to  his  brothers  in  California.  He  then 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


271 


returned  to  a  business  life,  his  early  choice,  and  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  immense  fortune  and  benefactions. 

A  young  broom-maker  thought  that  he  had  a  call  to  be  a  preacher, 
and  applied  to  his  Presbytery  for  a  license,  which,  after  an  official  exam¬ 
ination,  it  was  thought  best  to  refuse.  The  decision  was  made  known 
to  the  candidate  by  the  oldest  minister,  who  said  with  great  deliberation: 

My  young  friend,  the  Lord  requires  every  man  to  glorify  Him  in  some 
particular  calling,  some  in  one  and  some  in  another,  according  to  the 
talents  He  hath  committed  unto  them ;  and  the  Presbytery  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  Lord  desires  that  you  should  glorify  Him  by  making 
brooms.  ” 

Better  adorn  your  own  than  seek  another’s  place.  Aim  high,  by  all 
means,  as  high  as  your  powers  will  permit,  but  do  not  aim  at  what 
you  are  wholly  unfit  for.  Better  be  the  Napoleon  of  bootblacks,  or  the 
Alexander  of  chimney-sweepers,  let  us  say  with  Matthew  Arnold,  than 
a  shallow-brained  attorney  who,  like  necessity,  knows  no  law. 

I  I  remember,  says  a  recent  writer,  a  girl  talking  to  a  man  of  inter¬ 
national  reputation  about  her  work  in  life.  It  was  journalism.  She 
spoke  of  its  hardships,  its  small  recompense,  at  first;  its  lack  of  repose. 
He  listened  to  her  most  gravely,  and  then  said :  ^  My  friend,  are  you  in 
the  right  groove  ?  ^  The  question  startled  the  girl,  who  had  never 
thought  of  applying  natural  law  to  her  selection  of  a  profession  by  find¬ 
ing  out  first  if  she  was  built  for  that  groove.  I  met  her  a  year  after¬ 
ward,  and  she  said,  with  a  beaming  face :  ^  I  have  found  my  groove.  ^ 

It  is  a  great  thing, —  this  finding  one’s  groove  in  anything  in  life! 
It  is  quite  worth  the  while  to  give  it  consideration  and  thought.  It 
makes  as  much  difference  in  life  as  it  does  in  mechanics;  it  is  hard  to 
run  a  four-inch  slide  in  a  three-inch  groove ! 

Our  wishes, Geikie  says,  are  presentiments  of  our  capabilities.^^ 
This  is  true  only  in  a  limited  sense.  I  know  men  who  are  trying  to 
paint  landscapes  on  canvas,  whose  souls  have  never  caught  the  divine 
sense  of  beauty.  Others,  again,  are  wasting  their  lives  in  a  vain  effort 
to  be  writers  or  musicians,  while  they  have  not  the  slightest  natural 
ability  for  such  vocations.  In  straining  after  a  great  career,  trying  to 
reach  some  lofty  niche  or  pedestal  for  which  nature  never  intended 
them,  many  people  lose  all  the  sweetness  and  joy  of  living. 

Do  not  mistake  a  shallow,  selfish  ambition,  a  desire  to  be  some¬ 
body  in  the  world,  for  an  aptitude  for  any  particular  calling.  Do  not 
mistake  some  temporary  enthusiasm  for  a  call.  Many  a  youth  has  been' 
turned  in  the  wrong  direction,  and  has  become  a  failure,  or  only  a  par¬ 
tial  success,  through  having  his  imagination  roused  by  reading  some 
book,  or  by  the  enthusiasm  of  some  optimistic  lecturer,  to  try  to 'do  the 
very  opposite  of  what  he  should  have  undertaken. 


272 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  ignorance  of  men  who  know  not  for  what  time  and  to  what 
thing  they  be  fit/^  said  Roger  Ascham,  causeth  some  to  wish  them¬ 
selves  rich  for  whom  it  were  better  a  great  deal  to  be  poor;  some  to  de¬ 
sire  to  be  in  the  court,  which  be  born  and  be  fitter  rather  for  the  cart; 
some  to  be  masters  and  rule  others,  who  never  yet  began  to  rule  them¬ 
selves;  some  to  teach,  which  rather  should  learn;  some  to  be  priests, 
which  were  fitter  to  be  clerks. 

Half  the  world  seems  to  have  found  uncongenial  occupation,  as  if 
the  human  race  had  been  shaken  up  together  and  had  exchanged  places 
in  the  operation.  A  servant  girl  is  trying  to  teach,  and  a  natural  teacher 
is  tending  store.  Good  farmers  are  murdering  the  law,  while  Choates 
and  Websters  are  ruining  farms,  each  tortured  by  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  unfulfilled  destiny.  Boys  are  pining  in  factories  who  should  be 
wrestling  with  Greek  and  Latin,  and  hundreds  are  chafing  beneath  un¬ 
natural  loads  in  college  who  should  be  on  the  farm  or  before  the  mast. 

Artists  are  spreading  daubs  on  canvas  who  should  be  whitewashing 
board  fences.  Behind  counters  stand  clerks  who  hate  the  yardstick, 
and  neglect  their  work  to  dream  of  other  occupations.  A  good  shoe¬ 
maker  writes  a  few  verses  for  the  village  paper;  his  friends  call  him  a 
poet,  and  the  last,  with  which  he  is  familiar,  is  abandoned  for  the  pen 
which  he  uses  awkardly.  Other  shoemakers  are  cobbling  in  Congress, 
while  statesmen  are  pounding  shoe-lasts.  Laymen  are  murdering  ser¬ 
mons,  while  Beechers  and  Whitefields  are  failing  as  merchants,  and 
people  are  wondering  what  can  be  the  cause  of  empty  pews.  A  boy 
who  is  always  making  something  with  tools  is  railroaded  through  the 
university  and  started  on  the  road  to  inferiority  in  one  of  the  three 
honorable  professions.  Real  surgeons  are  handling  the  meat-saw  and 
cleaver,  while  butchers  are  amputating  human  limbs. 

Criminals,  suicides,  most  of  the  unfortunates  in  life,  come  from  the 
classes  who  have  never  found  their  places.  A  man  in  his  place  rarely 
commits  crime.  When  he  has  found  his  orbit,  he  feels  satisfied  in  it;  he 
feels  that  all  his  powers  are  pulling;  his  purpose  is  tugging  away  at  all 
his  faculties.  He  does  not  feel  humiliated  because  he  is  a  farmer  or  a 
blacksmith  or  a  school-teacher.  He  does  not  apologize  because  he  is  not 
this  or  that;  he  has  found  his  place,  and  is  satisfied.  He  may  not 
have  the  ability  of  a  Washington  or  a  Gladstone,  but  that  does  not  hu¬ 
miliate  him;  he  feels  that  he  is  a  man,  a  whole  man,  and  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  fulfilling  his  natural  destiny  makes  him  a  power. 

A  caged  eagle  is  conscious  of  inferiority,  of  los^  of  power.  He  knows 
that  his  wings  were  intended  for  soaring,  and  feels  a  perpetual  humilia¬ 
tion  while  imprisoned.  But  open  the  cage  and  let  his  proud  wings  feel 
the  air  once  more,  and  he  will  mount  and  mount  until  he  becomes  but  a 
speck  between  the  earth  and  the  sun.  So  caged  minds  never  feel  their 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


273 


power  until  they  are  free,  until  their  wings  touch  the  air,  when  they 
soar  toward  their  natural  goal. 

Make  it  the  business  of  the  first  part  of  your  life  to  find  your  forte, 
and,  when  you  have  found  it,  verily  you  need  ask  no  other  blessedness. 

Whatever  you  do  in  life,  be  greater  than  your  calling.  Most  people 
look  upon  an  occupation  or  calling  as  a  mere  expedient  for  earning  a  liv¬ 
ing.  What  a  mean,  narrow  view  to  take  of  what  was  intended  for  the 
great  school  of  life,  the  great  man  developer,  the  character-builder;  that 
which  should  broaden,  deepen,  heighten,  and  round  out  into  symmetry, 
harmony,  and  beauty,  all  the  God-giveh  faculties  within  us! 

The  only  direction  in  which  we  can  safely  move  is  forward. 

—  C.  B.  Newcomb. 


HAS  MACHINERY  EMANCIPATED  MAN  FROM 

DRUDGERY? 


By  THE  HON.  CARROLL  D.  WRIGHT 

United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor 


^■pHE  question :  Has  machinery  emancipated  man  from 
I  drudgery  ?  cannot  be  answered  with  a  direct 
affirmative  or  negative.  If  put  in  the  more  moder¬ 
ate  form:  ^^Has  machinery  diminished  the  drudgery  of 
the  human  race  ?  it  may  be  answered  strongly  in  the 
affirmative. 

Machinery  has  absolutely  done  away  with  many  forms 
of  painful,  tedious,  and  unhealthy  labor.  It  has  also 
greatly  reduced  the  number  of  men  required  to  produce 
a  given  result.  Even  if  it  were  admitted  that  those  still 
employed  in  tending  machinery  were  subjected  to  drudg¬ 
ery  as  severe  and  degrading  as  the  lowest  forms  of 
manual  labor,  it  would  still  be  true  that  through  their 
sacrifice  many  thousands  of  their  fellows  had  purchased  immunity  from 
this  thankless  labor.  Machine  production  has  greatly  increased  the 


13—18 


274 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


efficiency  of  the  human  race,  and,  by  enabling  a  fe,w  men  to  do  what 
once  required  many,  has  released  the  many  for  higher  employments  and 
for  the  multiplication  of  comforts  and  luxuries  for  the  human  race. 

I  do  not  believe  that  labor  on  machines  has  added  to  the  drudgery  of 

4 

the  human  race,  or  degraded  labor.  The  question  whether  machine  la¬ 
bor  is  degrading  to  the  mind  and  the  man,  has  often  been  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  even  by  writers  who  have  admitted  the  necessity  and  value 
of  machinery.  It  is  said  that  in  making  small  parts  of  large  machines, 
and  in  making  small  articles,  there  is  a  dwarfing  of  the  intellectual  facul¬ 
ties  which  is  not  experienced  in  making  entire  articles  with  their  varied 
parts.  This  might  be  true  if  the  man  who  has  been  making  whole 
things  is  set  to  work  upon  small  parts.  The  fact  is,  however,  that 
the  man  who  makes  the  small  parts,  or  the  small  articles,  and  is  thus 
subjected  to  what  is  called  the  terrible  monotony  of  machine  occupa¬ 
tion,  ^Ms  not  usually  the  man  who  is  capable  of  making  whole  things, 
but  is  a  man  who  has  been  promoted  by  machinery  from  some  still 
more  monotonous  calling. 

The  use  of  machinery  compels  sobriety  on  the  part  of  the  operative. 
There  has  been  no  more  powerful  or  effective  temperance  worker  than 
the  machine.  The  testimony  in  this  direction  is  conclusive  and  grati¬ 
fying.  A  man  with  an  addled  brain  has  no  business  in  the  presence  of 
machinery,  for  his  life  and  limb  would  be  endangered.  The  employer, 
looking  at  the  question  from  even  a  selfish  point  of  view,  is  of  necessity 
compelled  to  engage  men  who  come  to  their  employment  with  clear 
heads.  In  this  respect,  machinery  does  not  degrade  labor,  but  elevates  it. 

But,  has  machinery  degraded  labor  by  diminishing  the  opportunities  for 
employment,  and  so  increasing  among  laborers  the  competition  for  work  ? 
Quite  the  contrary.  The  greatest  increase  in  the  employment  of  people 
at  advanced  wages  is  found  in  those  industries  where  the  highest  types  of 
machines  have  been  introduced.  Machines  not  only  create  new  demands 
in  old  lines,  but  also  create  occupations  that  never  existed  before  their  in¬ 
troduction.  Thousands  of  people  are  now  employed  in  telegraphy.  Not 
a  single  individual  has  been  displaced,  because  the  occupation  did  not  exist 
before  the  use  of  electricity.  Thousands  more  find  remunerative  employ¬ 
ment  in  the  construction  of  telegraph  lines,  the  manufacture  of  instru¬ 
ments,  and  the  care  of  the  wires.  The  telephone  has  added  another 
similar  field  of  employment,  while  the  whole  list  of  electrical  appliances 
has  provided  for  the  employment  of  armies  of  skilled  workers,  without 
trenching  upon  the  former  employments.  Electroplating,  as  a  sub¬ 
division  of  the  use  of  electricity,  has  brought  remunerative  and  con¬ 
genial  employment  to  thousands  of  people. 

If  we  look  at  the  introduction  of  railways,  the  same  general  results 
may  be  noted.  The  railroads  of  the  United  States  employ  in  their  opera- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


275 


tion  more  than  a  million  people.  When  we  consider  the  construction  of 
road-beds,  or  rolling  stock,  and  all  the  necessary  equipment  for  conven¬ 
ient  and  commodious  travel,  it  is  apparent  that  new  occupations  have 
been  offered  to  vast  numbers  of  wage-receivers.  When  the  electric  line 
was  opened  between  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  a  few  years  ago,  by  which 
people  could  have  a  service  every  few  minutes  between  the  two  cities, 
complaint  was  made  that  it  had  practically  thrown  out  of  employment 
the  brakemen  and  other  hands  employed  on  the  steam-railway.  On  in¬ 
quiry,  it  appeared  that  under  the  old  steam-road  regime  the  trains  were 
not  very  frequent  between  the  two  cities,  and  that  only  six  or  eight  peo¬ 
ple  were  practically  injured  by  the  new  order  of  things,  while  sixty-five 
men  were  required  to  run  the  electric  cars  which  had  displaced  the  former 
trains. 

Indeed,  rapid  transit  in  our  great  cities  has  been  instrumental  in 
bringing  a  vast  number  of  well-informed  men  into  active  employment. 
An  inferior  man  cannot  run  an  electric  car;  he  must  have  sufficient  in¬ 
telligence  to  understand  the  methods  necessary  for  the  propulsion,  stop¬ 
ping,  and  guiding  of  the  cars.  From  the  standpoint  of  an  intelligent 
being,  he  is  vastly  superior  to  the  man  required  to  drive  the  horses  of  an 
ordinary  street-car.  The  displacement  of  the  stage-coach  and  the  stage- 
driver  was  nothing  compared  to  the  expansion  of  labor  which  the  rail¬ 
road  systems  of  the  country  have  created.  All  this  work  of  the  railroads 
has  not,  in  all  probability,  displaced  a  single  coachman;  on  the  other 
hand,  it  has  created  the  demand  for  drivers  and  workers  with  horses 
and  wagons  through  the  great  expansion  of  the  express  business,  of 
cab-driving,  of  connecting  lines,  and  in  other  ways,  which  could  never 
have  been  realized  under  the  old  order  of  travel. 

When  the  sewing-machine  was  invented,  it  was  generally  believed 
that  the  sewing  girl’s  day  was  over.  In  a  certain  respect  it  was.  But 
she  now  earns  more  money,  with  less  physical  exhaustion,  than  under  the 
old  system.  Abominably  scanty  as  are  the  results  of  her  efforts  now, 
they  are  far  superior  to  what  they  would  have  been  without  this  inven¬ 
tion.  As  an  illustration  of  the  expansion  of  labor  through  machinery, 
the  sewing-machine  is  a  striking  instance.  It  has  displaced  no  one;  it 
has  increased  demand,  and  it  has  been  the  means  of  establishing  great 
workshops  to  supply  the  thousands  of  machines  sold  in  every  civilized 
part  of  the  world. 

Another  invention  whieh  aroused  agitation  and  contention  in  labor 
circles  is  the  linotype  machine.  Fortunately  for  society,  the  compositors 
are  an  intelligent  body  of  men.  Their  work  is  regulated  by  the  Typo¬ 
graphical  Union.  When  the  linotype  machine  was  first  operated  suc¬ 
cessfully,  the  compositors  felt  some  apprehension  that  their  occupation 
would  be  seriously  injured,  and  many  men  be  permanently  thrown  out  of 


276 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


employment.  Many  men  were  thrown  out  of  employment,  but  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  officers  of  the  Typographical  Union,  publishers,  and  newspaper 
managers,  is  that  at  the  present  time  there  are,  in  all  probability,  as 
many  men  employed  in  setting  type,  either  by  the  old  methods  or  by 
the  new,  as  before  the  linotype  was  introduced.  The  conclusion  is  rea¬ 
sonable  that  a  few  years  will  see  a  large  relative  increase  in  composi¬ 
tors.  The  great  demand  for  reading-matter  of  all  grades  necessitated 
the  introduction  of  new  methods  which  would  greatly  reduce,  the  cost  of 
producing  it.  The  managers  of  every  political  campaign  depend  now 
upon  distributing  vast  quantities  of  reading-matter.  The  committees  of 
the  two  great  political  parties,  during  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1896,  sent  out  nearly  two  hundred  million  copies  of  documents.  The 
orator  still  has  a  part  to  play,  but  the  printing-press  does  the  work  of 
setting  men  to  thinking,  to  decide  intelligently  how  they  shall  give  their 
votes. 

The  dissemination  of  knowledge  means  the  expansion  of  all  printing 
devices  or  methods  by  which  the  knowledge  can  be  carried  to  the  individ¬ 
ual.  The  farmers  and  mechanics  of  our  country  are  readers  of  daily 
papers,  literary  magazines,  reviews,  and  art  journals,  and  the  supply  of 
all  this  matter  at  low  cost  is  a  necessity  which  can  be  met  only  by  ma¬ 
chinery.  One  magazine  has  reached  the  enormous  circulation  of  nearly 
nine  hundred  thousand  copies  per  month.  Under  the  old  methods,  this 
would  have  been  a  physieal  impossibility.  The  present  editions  of  some 
of  the  great  dailies  could  never  be  reached  without  the  employment  of 
the  power-press,  whose  capacity  seems  to  have  no  bounds.  The  latest 
capacity  of  the  modern  printing-press  is  ninety-six  thousand  eight-page 
papers  in  one  hour.  To  do  the  presswork  alone  for  this  number  of  papers 
would  take,  on  the  old  plan,  a  man  and  a  boy,  working  ten  hours  a  day, 
one  hundred  and  forty  days. 

So,  for  every  fact  which  can  be  brought  forward  to  show  that  ma¬ 
chines  have  deprived  men  of  labor,  another  fact  can  be  set  against  it 
whieh  will  prove  that  more  men  have  been  supplied  with  labor  than  have 
been  deprived  of  it.  Every  impartial  investigation  of  the  subject  shows 
this  beyond  dispute. 

To  turn  again  to  the  direct  effect  of  machine  labor  upon  the  laborer, 
there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  moral  benefits  of  the  new  sys¬ 
tem.  Under  the  old  hand-system  of  labor,  or  the  domestic  system, — 
which  was  displaced  when  machinery  came  in,  and  the  factory  system 
become  fixed, —  the  most  demoralizing  conditions  prevailed.  Those  who 
believe  that  the  old  system  was  better  than  the  new,  find  something 
poetic  in  the  idea  of  the  vreaver  of  Old  England,  before  spinning  machin¬ 
ery  was  invented,  working  in  his  cottage  at  the  loom,  with  his  wife  and 
children  about  him.  From  this  picture  they  derive  the  impression  that 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


277 


the  domestic  system  was  better  than  the  present.  This  sentiment  has 
done  much  to  create  false  ideas  as  to  the  influence  of  machinery  upon 
the  life  of  the  laborer.  Goldsmith’s  Auburn  and  Crabbe’s  Village 
do  not,  in  fact,  paint  the  truest  picture  of  their  country’s  home  life  under 
the  domestic  system  of  labor.  The  domestic  laborer’s  home,  instead  of 
being  the  poetic  one  thus  painted,  was  of  a  very  different  character. 
Huddled  together  in  his  hut,  which  was  far  from  being  the  vine-covered 
cottage  of  the  poet,  the  weaver’s  family  lived  and  worked,  without  comfort, 
convenience,  good  air,  or  good  food,  and  without  much  intelligence. 
Drunkenness  and  theft  made  the  usual  home  the  scene  of  disorder,  want, 
and  crime.  Superstition  prevailed,  and  envy  swayed  the  workers.  If 
the  members  of  one  family,  endowed  with  more  virtue  and  intelligence 
than  the  mass,  tried  to  so  conduct  themselves  as  to  secure  at  least  self- 
respect,  they  were  either  abused  or  ostracized  by  their  neighbors. 
Ignorance  added  to  the  squalor  of  the  home,  and  what  all  these  elements 
failed  to  produce  in  making  the  hut  a  filthy  and  repulsive  den  was  faith¬ 
fully  performed,  in  too  many  instances,  by  swine.  The  reports  of  the 
Poor  Laws  Commissioners  of  England  are  truer  exponents  of  conditions 
than  are  the  poetic  descriptions,  and  more  faithfully  reveal  the  demoraliz¬ 
ing  influences  of  pauperism,  and  of  the  other  curses  which  were  so  pro¬ 
lific  of  evil  under  the  hand  system  of  work. 

The  ethical  effects  of  the  division  of  labor  which  has  resulted  from 
the  general  use  of  machinery  are  marked.  They  mean  much  to  the 
young  man  seeking  to  enter  upon  an  occupation.  Trades  are  hardly 
essential  now.  The  apprentice  boy,  if  he  is  bright*  can  learn  his  trade 
in  much  less  time  than  was  required  in  the  old  way,  under  which  he 
became  a  journeyman  by  the  lapse  of  years  spent  in  his  apprentice¬ 
ship.  Modern  conditions,  through  manual  training  and  the  results  of  the 
trade  school,  permit  a  boy  to  utilize  his  whole  time,  and,  as  soon  as  he  be¬ 
comes  accomplished,  or  well  equipped  in  his  particular  trade,  to  com¬ 
mand  the  wages  legitimately  due.  He  has  had  the  experience  of  good 
training,  and  he  has  an  advantage  over  the  old  apprentice,  both  in  the 
saving  of  time,  and  in  the  earlier  reward  which  his  skill  commands. 
With  the  diversity  of  employment  which  has  resuited  from  the  use  of 
machinery,  there  have  come  shorter  hours  of  labor  and  correspondingly 
increased  opportunities  for  mental  and  moral  improvement.  With  this 
gain  of  time,  wages  have  been  greatly  increased,  and  the  cost  of  the 
principal  articles  of  consumption  constantly  reduced. 

As  to  production,  one  illustration  drawn  from  the  cotton  industry  will 
serve  for  all.  An  average  adult  hand-loom  weaver  can  weave  from 
forty-two  to  forty-eight  yards  of  common  shirting  per  week;  a  weaver  in 
a  modern  factory,  tending  six  power-looms,  can  turn  out  about  fifteen 
hundred  yards  per  week.  On  the  hand-wheel  (one  spindle)  a  spinner 


278 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


can  turn  off  three  pounds  of  yarn  in  a  week;  the  operator  of  the  mule 
spinning-machines  can  turn  out  over  three  thousand  pounds  in  the  same 
time.  All  this  means  a  corresponding  decrease  in  the  price  of  the  pro¬ 
duct,  and  brings  it  within  the  reach  of  many  persons  of  moderate  means, 
who  could  not  have  afforded  so  good  a  product  under  the  old  conditions. 

The  hours  of  labor  have  been  reduced  from  twelve  or  thirteen  per 
day,  in  the  same  industry,  to  nine  and  one-half  in  England  and  ten  (gen¬ 
erally)  in  this  country.  An  examination  of  statistical  tables  will  con¬ 
vince  any  one  that  for  most  divisions  of  labor  in  textile  factories,  wages 
have  been  nearly  doubled  during  the  past  sixty  or  seventy  years,  and  will 
show  like  results  for  many  other  industries. 

There  has  been  no  debasement  of  humanity  by  the  substitution  of 
machinery  for  human  labor,  and  there  is  no  danger  in  such  substitution. 
Machinery  has  not,  as  is  so  often  asserted,  helped  to  create  new  and 
wide  inequalities  in  society,  turned  thousands  into  tramps  and  vaga¬ 
bonds,  or  hardened  the  natural  selfishness  of  men.  It  has  at  times  been 
a  hardship,  for  it  has  created  new  relationships  in  life.  It  has  changed 
the  old  ind.ividual  relationship  of  the  employer  and  the  employee  to  the 
corporate  relationship;  but  it  is  now  forcing  men  to  the  conclusion  that 
moral  attributes  are  just  as  powerful,  and  the  application  of  moral  prin¬ 
ciples  just  as  feasible,  under  the  new  corporate,  as  under  the  old  individ¬ 
ual,  relations.  It  has  been  the  means  of  reducing  the  work-day  from 
twelve  or  fourteen  hours  to  nine  or  ten  hours,  and  the  inevitable  result 
will  be  still  further  reduction  in  the  time  necessary  for  the  earning  of  a 
living.  It  has  not  only  shortened  the  work-day;  it  has  also  increased 
the  remuneration  per  hour. 

These  influences  have  been  going  on  until  there  has  been  established 
a  new  law  of  production,  which  is,  that  the  employment  of  machinery 
necessitates,  as  a  rule,  a  larger  outlay  of  capital  for  the  production  of 
the  given  unit ;  that  the  profit  accruing  to  capital  on  this  unit  is  decreas¬ 
ing  ;  that  the  reward  to  labor  for  the  same  unit  has  increased ;  and  that 
the  cost  to  the  consumer  has  decreased. 

Most  machinery  is  expensive,  and  an  establishment  equipped  with 
the  very  best  appliances  finds  itself  compelled,  when  new  processes  are 
invented  and  new  mechanical  devices  brought  into  existence,  to  sell  its 
old  machines  for  old  iron.  Labor  must  then  replace  it  all,  and  so  the 
evolution  of  invention  goes  on.  The  opportunities  for  employment  are 
widened;  the  work-day  is  shortened;  the  reward  for  labor  is  increased, 
and  a  larger  proportion  of  the  whole  population  is  provided  with  em¬ 
ployment. 


279 


A  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  VIEW  OF  THE 

LABOR  PROBLEM 


By  JAMES  B.  REYNOLDS 
Superintendent  of  the  University  Settlement  of  New  York 

A  LARGE  portion  of  the  troubles  of  life  are  due  to  mis¬ 
understandings.  Particularly  is  this  true  in  regard 
to  the  troubles  between  employers  and  employees. 

The  evolution  of  modern  industry  has  wrought  a  great 
change  in  the  relations  between  them.  When  a  man 
employed  only  a  few  workmen,  he  knew  them  all,  and 
they  could  state  their  grievances  to  him,  personally.  He 
could  tell  them  what  he  could  do  and  what  he  could 
not  do  to  improve  their  condition,  and  the  limitations 
which  the  necessities  of  business  imposed  upon  him. 

They  might  disagree  and  they  might  quarrel,  but  quarrels 
were  far  less  likely  then  than  now  to  result  from  misun¬ 
derstandings. 

The  modern  captain  of  industry,  at  whose  command  thousands  serve, 
is,  of  necessity,  an  entire  stranger  to  the  vast  number  of  employees 
whose  toil  makes  him  prosperous.  Often  he  has  but  a  very  faint  con¬ 
ception  of  what  manner  of  men  they  are,  and  frequently  they  know  him 
only  by  reputation  as  a  bloated  capitalist.  '  Under  such  circumstances, 
it  is  natural  that  suspicion  and  animosity  should  exist  where  there  should 
be  mutual  trust  and  confidence. 

One  of  the  most  important  problems  of  labor,  therefore,  is  to  find  a 
substitute  for  that  personal  contact  between  employer  and  employees 
which  is  now  no  longer  possible.  Where  organizations  exist,  it  is  in  a 
measure  attainable  by  the  appointment  of  committees,  by  each  side,  to 
discuss  differences,  suggest  remedies  for  grievances,  and  to  make  mutual 
concessions.  How  admirably  such  a  system  may  work,  has  been  strikingly 
illustrated  in  the  bricklayers’  trade  in  New  York,  in  which,  for  eleven 
years,  no  strike  occurred.  This  was  because,  before  recourse  to  such  a 
deplorable  measure  could  be  had,  the  matter  in  dispute  had  to  come 
before  a  standing  board  of  conciliation,  composed  equally  of  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  employers  and  representatives  of  the  workmen.  From 
the  decision  of  this  board  an  appeal  might  be  taken  by  either  side  to  a 
board  of  appeal,  also  composed  equally  of  representatives  of  employers 
and  employees.  Thus,  there  were  abundant  opportunities  for  getting 
together,  exchanging  views,  and  arriving  at  a  proper  understanding  of 


28o 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


each  other’s  position.  Opportunities  for  a  misunderstanding  were  reduced 
to  a  minimum. 

When  the  employer  of  a  large  number  of  men  acts  in  his  individual 
capacity,  apart  from  any  association  of  employers,  he  will,  I  am  sure, 
find  that  it  pays  to  make  conciliation  a  recognized  part  of  his  business, 
just  as  much  as  bookkeeping,  and  he  should  put  in  charge  of  it  some 
man  of  sound  judgment,  tact,  and  discretion,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to 
do  what  the  employer  himself  has  not  time  to  do, —  get  acquainted  with 
the  men,  study  things  from  their  point  of  view,  investigate  their  griev¬ 
ances  and  complaints,  and  report  them,  with  any  remedies  he  may  be 
able  to  suggest,  to  his  employer.  This  duty  is  now  supposed  to  be  dis¬ 
charged,  in  a  measure,  by  the  general  superintendent,  or  by  the  heads 
of  the  various  departments.  As  it  is  also  an  important  part  of  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  these  men  to  make  the  employees  contented,  and  to  obviate,  as 
far  as  their  powers  permit,  all  reasonable  cause  of  complaint,  an  acknowl¬ 
edgment  by  them  that  such  cause  exists  is  tantamount  to  an  admission 
of  their  own  incompetency.  Therefore,  their  interest  lies  in  not  reporting 
grievances  to  the  employer.  This  ought  to  be  apparent  to  the  employer 
himself,  but,  acute  though  he  may  be  in  business  matters,  generally,  he 
often  fails  to  see  it.  Whichever  side  wins,  both  employers  and  em¬ 
ployees  have  to  pay  dearly  for  strikes.  Merely  as  a  matter  of  business 
economy,  therefore,  it  is  worth  while  to  pay  something  to  prevent 
strikes. 

How  to  assure  the  industrious  and  deserving  workman  permanent 
employment,  is  another  of  the  weighty  and  perplexing  problems  of  labor. 
Despite  all  that  is  said  about  the  value  of  thought,  the  fact  remains  that 
few  workmen  with  families,  except  in  the  highly  skilled  and  proportion¬ 
ately  well-paid  trades,  can  save  enough  to  tide  them  over  any  consider¬ 
able  period  of  enforced  idleness.  As  to  laying  by  enough  to  support 
them  in  their  old  age,  that  is  well-nigh  hopeless.  It  is  hard  to  realize, 
except  through  personal  association  with  men  subjected  to  these  condi¬ 
tions,  how  bitterly  they  feel  the  hardships  of  their  lot.  Imagine  what 
it  must  be  to  realize  that,  work  as  hard  as  you  may,  from  dawn  to  dark 
and  perhaps  far  into  the  night,  you  can  never  place  your  family  beyond 
the  menace  of  actual  want,  or  the  humiliation  of  dependence  on  charity! 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  man  who  is  continually  facing  such 
a  prospect  feels  that  there  is  some  bed-rock  injustice  in  the  social  order, 
when  he  contrasts  his  condition  with  that  of  the  man  at  whose  hands  he 
asks  only  the  boon  of  steady  work.  Yet,  that  a  man  should  be  dropped 
after  serving  an  employer  faithfully,  though  it  may  be  in  a  humble  ca¬ 
pacity,  for  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years,  is  of  such  common  occurrence 
that  it  excites  only  passing  pity  for  the  victim,  and  business  is  held 
to  be  sufficient  justification  for  the  conduct  of  the  employer. 


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281 


Wherever  feasible,  I  believe  that  a  system  of  insurance  should  be 
adopted,  to  which  both  employer  and  employees  should  contribute,  to 
provide  against  such  contingencies  and  the  other'  vicissitudes  of  life. 
Under  such  a  plan,  the  man  who  has  worked  a  prescribed  number  of 
years  would  receive  an  income,  small  to  be  sure,  but  still  worth  taking 
into  account,  if  it  should  come  to  a  struggle  against  starvation.  The  de¬ 
tails  could  be  so  arranged,  as  in  the  excellent  plan  adopted  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  that  the  amount  of  the  pension  would 
increase  in  rates  corresponding  to  the  number  of  years  of  service  of  the 
beneficiary. 

Rightly  or  wrongly,  the  workingman  feels  that  he  does  not  get  a  fair 
share  of  the  profits  derived  from  the  products  of  his  labor.  In  his  place, 
the  man  of  millions  would  probably  feel  the  same  way,  but  it  requires  a 
powerful  imagination  to  bridge  the  gulf  that  separates  the  day-laborer 
and  the  millionaire.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  if  some  general  system 
could  be  devised  whereby  the  workingman  could  become  more  directly 
a  profit-sharer  than  is  possible  under  the  wage  system,  alone,  labor 
troubles  would  be  greatly  diminished. 

In  many  industries,  as  now  organized,  direct  profit-sharing  is  hardly 
possible,  but  something  of  that  sort  which  will  insure  a  more  equably 
division  of  the  wealth  actually  produced  by  labor  than  now  prevails, 
stands  for  the  ultimate  solution  of  the  labor  problem.  Meanwhile,  we 
should  be  content  to  make  progress  slowly,  and  give  assistance  and  sym¬ 
pathy  to  every  movement  which  tends  in  that  direction. 

For  this  reason,  the  University  Settlement  Society  welcomes  the 
meetings  of  trades  unions  within  its  quarters.  Despite  grievous  errors 
which  may  be  charged  against  some  of  them,  trades  unions  have  greatly 
benefited  workingmen  in  the  past,  and  in  the  future  they  are  destined 
to  play  a  still  more  important  part  in  ameliorating  the  workingman’s  con¬ 
dition.  In  such  organizations  the  members  learn  the  value  of  solidarity 
and  cooperation.  They  exercise  a  distinctly  educational  influence. 
Economically  considered,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  do  much  to 
keep  up  wages.  Though  generally  regarded  as  promoters  of  strikes,  an 
examination  of  the  facts  has  convinced  me  that  their  influence  is  opposed 
to  strikes  and  tends  to  minimize  their  number.  Strikes  are  far  more  fre¬ 
quent  among  trades  that  are  not  organized  than  among  trades  that  are 
organized.  And  the  stronger  the  organization  the  fewer  the  strikes. 


*282 


\ 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  DIFFICULTY  AND  THE 

WAY  OUT 

By  A.  P.  DO  TLB,  D.D. 

Editor  of  The  Catholic  World 

The  too  frequent  recurrence  of  industrial  crises  demands 
that  an  honest  effort  be  made  to  seek  for  and  apply 
a  remedy.  It  is  very  certain  that,  in  view  of  the 
frequent  oppression  of  labor  by  inconsiderate  capital,  the 
strike  is  a  necessary  evil.  But  there  are  not  lacking  in 
the  ranks  of  labor,  smooth-tongued  demagogues  who,  by 
their  appeals  to  low  passions,  are  ready  to'foment  trouble 
and  intensify  unreasoning  hatred;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  employers  find  their  evil  advisers  in  the  petty 
bosses,  who  are  often  the  worst  of  tyrants. 

Political  economists,  after  discussing  the  common  reme¬ 
dies  for  industrial  disorders,  seem  to  doubt  the  efficacy  of 
their  own  theories,  for  they  know  that  the  deepest  root  of 
the  social  difficulty  lies  in  the  grasping  spirit  of  avarice,  which  leads 
some  men  to  ride  to  preeminence  over  the  backs  of  their  fellow-men. 
This  spirit  is  so  deep  in  the  human  heart  that  it  cannot  be  touched  by 
any  human  law,  or  counteracted  by  any  shifting  of  social  systems. 
Economists  are  compelled  to  admit,  and  they  do  admit,  that,  in  state 
socialism  in  all  its  varying  grades,  as  well  as  in  individual  ownership  in 
all  its  various  measures  of  absolutism,  the  same  cankerworm  exists  at 
the  heart  of  things.  So  they  universally  conclude  that,  when  every¬ 
thing  else  has  been  said,  a  more  or  less  generous  infusion  into  the 
affairs  of  men  of  the  spirit  of  the  Nazarene  Carpenter  is  necessary  to 
solve  the  problems  of  the  industrial  world.  If  employers  had  a  little 
more  of  the  I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude  spirit,  —  if  men 
believed  more  firmly  in  the  fact  that  it  is  necessary  to  seek,  first  of  all, 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  Justice,  in  order  that  all  things  else  may 
be  added  thereunto, —  if  the  world  took  seriously  the  fact  that  this  life 
is  but  the  preparation  for  the  Christian’s  real  life  beyond  the  grave,  there 
would  be  no  need  of  flaunting  socialistic  theories,  the  walking  delegate’s 
occupation,  like  Othello’s,  would  be  gone,  and  the  employer  and  em¬ 
ployee  alike  would  have  a  reasonable  sufficiency. 

We  cannot,  however,  hope  in  the  present  state  of  human  nature  that 
the  spirit  of  religion  will  be  sq  universally  absorbed  that  it  will  abolish 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


283 


inordinate  greed  for  gain.  While  every  effort  is  made  to  leaven  the  mass 
with  it,  there  will  still  be  clashing  of  interests.  The  rights  of  the  weaker 
party  will  be  overridden  by  the  superior  strength  of  the  more  powerful, 
and  there  will  be,  again  and  again,  the  spectacle  of  industrial  warfare, 
the  clash  of  arms,  the  calling  out  of  the  militia,  the  street  mobs,  the 
spilling  of  blood,  and  the  defeat  of  the  employees. 

When  the  crisis  comes,  heroic  measures  must  be  resorted  to.  I  be¬ 
lieve  in  compulsory  arbitration.  This  is  founded  on  the  fact  that  in 
every  extended  strike  there  are  other  parties  involved  besides  the  em¬ 
ployer  and  his  workmen.  That  great  body  of  people,  who  may  be  com¬ 
prised  under  the  name  of  the  public,  have  most  vital  interests  at  stake. 
No  industrial  battle  can  be  waged  without  invading  the  right  of  thou¬ 
sands  to  the  peace  of  their  homes,  and  the  quiet  pursuance  of  their  vari¬ 
ous  vocations,  the  right  of  wives  and  children  to  the  necessities  of  life, 
the  right  of  the  whole  country  to  its  good  name  for  peaceful  citizenship 
and  the  protection  of  property.  The  public,  which  is  a  larger  body 
than  employer,  trusts,  or  labor  unions,  must  protect  itself,  and,  if  the 
parties  to  the  industrial  contention  will  not  come  to  an  agreement,  then, 
surely,  in  the  commonwealth  there  must  be  found  a  power  that  will  com¬ 
pel  them  to  agree.  I  say  compel,  because  voluntary  arbitration  has 
been  a  practical  failure.  The  history  of  strikes  shows  that  when  one 
party  to  a  strike  thinks  it  has  a  very  weak  case,  it  is  always  ready  to  have 
recourse  to  arbitration,  while  the  party  who  thinks  it  is  going  to  win  will 
not  have  it. 

There  should  be  a  well-established  court  of  arbitration,  composed  of 
eminent  men,  representatives  of  all  classes, —  the  capitalistic  as  well  as 
the  labor, —  men  of  unimpeachable  integrity.  This  court  should  be  sur¬ 
rounded  with  the  same  reverence  and  dignity  as  surrounds  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States.  It  should  have  supreme  authority  in  the 
premises,  to  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  and  the  production  of 
books,  and  the  power  to  inflict  penalties  for  contempt.  Its  decision 
should  be  final. 

The  existence  of  such  a  court,  absolutely  fair  in  its  rulings  and  com¬ 
pelling  in  its  decisions,  would  very  soon  force  conciliation  and  engender 
a  regard  for  the  rights  of  others.  In  regard  to  the  objections  urged 
against  compulsory  arbitration,  that  it  violates  individual  liberty  and 
freedom  of  contract,  and  attempts  to  fix  wages  and  prices  by  law  instead 
of  leaving  them  to  be  determined  by  the  conditions  of  the  market,  the 
government  must  decide.  Of  course,  it  is  necessary  to  guard  the  free¬ 
dom  of  contract,  and  to  maintain  its  inviolability,  but  the  freedom  that 
the  right  of  contracting  enjoys  has  its  limitations.  It  is  limited  by  the 
right  of  fundamental  laws  of  justice.  There  cannot  be  a  contract  to  do  a 


284 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


thing  that  is  evil  in  itself.  It  must  also  be  in  accord  with  the  common¬ 
weal.  The  law-making  power  has  ever  so  decided. 

Let  an  employer  make  whatever  contract  he  pleases  with  his  men, 
but,  if  it  i^  found  that  in  the  hiring  of  his  men  he  takes  advantage  of 
their  necessities,  or  if  he  insists  upon  inserting  in  the  contract  a  clause 
which  denies  to  the  men  the  inalienable  right  to  organize  for  their  com¬ 
mon  good,  has  the  state  no  right  to  protect  itself  against  the  conse¬ 
quences  if  a  strike  ensues 

A  few  years  ago  a  neighboring  people  could  not  keep  the  peace 
within  their  own  borders;  we  sent  the  military  and  naval  forces  there 
and  insisted  on  peace.  Shall  we  not  utilize  the  eminent  power  that  is 
invested  in  our  commonwealth,  to  maintain  the  peace  within  our  bor¬ 
ders,  by  compelling  the  disputants  to  accept  the  decision  of  a  disinterested 
court  of  arbitration  ?  The  right  of  contract  may  be  thereby  limited, 
but  what  about  the  contract  that  every  legal  unit,  be  it  corporation  or 
individual,  is  under  to  keep  the  peace  ?  Is  this  to  be  violated  in  order 
that  a  fictitious  liberty  be  given  to  another  contract  ?  As  Henry  B. 
Lloyd  puts  it  in  his  well-known  book,  A  Country  without  Strikes  — 

We  say  to  the  capitalists,  you  and  the  laborer  and  the  consumer  and 
the  public  are  all  interested.  We  —  the  state  —  are  the  only  agency  known  to 
society  which  can  protect  and  harmonize  all  these  interests, — provided, 
always,  that  you  cannot  or  will  not  harmonize  yourselves.  We  cannot 
leave  you  to  settle  with  each  other  in  the  old  way,  for  that,  we  know, 
leads  to  strikes,  devastation,  hate,  aUd  even  bloodshed.  In  this  world  of 
laborers,  capitalists,  consumers,  and  citizens,  you,  the  employing  capital¬ 
ists,  are  a  very  small  minority.  We  do  not  propose  to  sacrifice  you  or  to  do 
you  any  injustice,  but,  neither  do  we  intend  to  allow  you  to  do  us  any 
wrong  or  injustice.  You  must  settle  your  irreconcilable  differences  be¬ 
tween  yourselves  and  your  men  by  reference  to  a  disinterested  arbiter,  and 
not  by  strikes  and  lockouts. 

Had  the  state  of  Missouri  been  in  a  position  to  make  this  statement 
to  the  St.  Louis  Street  Railway  Company,  in  1900,  what  money  would 
have  been  saved  and  what  disgraceful  scenes  avoided,  and  the  good 
name  of  our  Western  city,  for  law  and  order,  and  civic  honor,  would  have 
been  preserved?  It  seems  very  hard  to  understand  why  compulsion  can¬ 
not  be  used  to  prevent  economic  crime,  as  well  as  any  other  crime ;  to 
put  down  an  industrial  injustice,  as  well  as  a  civil  injustice;  to  defend 
the  industrial  rights  of  the  people,  as  well  as  their  legal  rights. 

■  The  second  objection  against  compulsory  arbitration,  that  it  arbitra¬ 
rily  fixes  prices  and  wages  by  law  and  does  not  leave  them  to  the  fluctu¬ 
ating  conditions  of  the  market,  does  not  hold,  either.  A  court  of 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


285 


arbitration,  where  the  actual  conditions  of  the  market  are  laid  bare, 
affords  the  very  best  place  where  the  agencies  that  fix  prices  may  oper¬ 
ate,  untrammeled  by  any  external  influences. 

Prices  are  now  fixed  by  greed,  by  corners,  by  throttling  competition. 
The  court  of  arbitration  will  eliminate  all  these  extraneous  influence 
and  allow  the  genuine  laws  of  supply  and  demand  to  fix  prices. 

In  New  Zealand,  the  labor  unions  have  found  the  court  of  arbitration 

a  veritable  bulwark  of  justice,  and  in  spite  of  the  forebodings  of  proph- 

% 

ets  of  evil,  it  has  eliminated  strikes.  It  has  established  justice  and  social 
order,  where  industrial  anarchy  prevailed  before.  It  is  a  welcome  boon 
to  both  capital  and  labor.  How  long  will  the  practical  common  sense  of 
the  American  people  be  in  finding  that  this  is  the  way  out  of  the  indus¬ 
trial  evils  that  plague  us  ? 

CONDITIONS  OF  SUCCESS  IN  MANUFAC¬ 
TURING 

By  J.  C.  BA  TLES 
Formerly  Editor  of  The  Iro7i  Age 

IN  THE  ultimate  analysis,  almost  all  human  industry  is  a 
form  of  manufacturing,  more  or  less  complex  accord¬ 
ing  to  circumstances.  The  orderly  arrangement  of 
unrelated  parts,  and  the  bringing  into  artificial  combina¬ 
tion  of  forms  of  matter  not  associated  in  the  economy  of 
nature,  is  manufacturing,  whether  limited  to  the  making 
of  unglazed  pottery  and  the  weaving  of  mats  from  stained 
rushes,  or  expanded  and  differentiated  as  we  find  it  in 
countries  like  our  own;  in  which  a  high  and  regularly 
developed  civilization  finds  its  distinctive  characteristic 
in  a  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  so  rapid,  that  it  is 
followed  with  difficulty  even  by  those  who  contribute  to 
it.  Thus  the  economist  recognizes  in  manufacturing  the 
basis  of  all  orderly  and  systematic  human  activities.  Under  the  con¬ 
ditions  of  civilized  life  one  cannot  get  so  close  to  nature  as  to  be  even 
temporarily  independent  of  the  skill  and  industry  of  the  mechanic.  If 
he  plunges  into  the  wilderness,  he  needs  the  firearms  and  ammunition 
of  the  highly  organized  factory  for  his  defense  against  wild  beasts.  He 
clears  the  forest  with  an  ax  which  no  blacksmith  could  forge  by  hand. 
He  breaks  the  virgin  soil  with  a  plow  which  implies  the  preexistence  of 
a  mine,  a  blast  furnace,  a  foundry,  a  wood-working  shop,  a  rolling-mill, 
a  nut  and  bolt  works,  and  perhaps  a  dozen  minor  industries.  The  spade 
and  hoe,  with  which  he  performs  the  operations  of  crop  planting  and 


286 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


tending,  mean  another  system  of  organized  industries  which  are  the 
result  of  centuries  of  development  from  the  archaic  types  of  hand-wrought 
tools.  The  appliances  for  reaping  and  harvesting  are  made  for  him  by 
skilled  mechanics,  whose  intelligence  is  expressed  in  the  construction  of 
machinery  possessing,  in  arms  of  iron  and  fingers  of  steel,  more  than  hu¬ 
man  dexterity  and  precision.  His  grain  is  threshed  and  cleaned  by  ma¬ 
chinery;  it  is  carried  in  wagons  to  car  or  vessel,  and  ultimately  reaches 
a  market  as  flour,  after  treatment  by  one  of  the  most  exact,  rapid,  and 
economical  manufacturing  processes  known  in  the  arts. 

What  has  been  said  of  farming  is  equally  true  of  mining,  lumbering, 
and  the  crudest  processes  of  taking  raw  material  from  the  earth.  The 
mechanic  supplies  the  means  by  which  even  the  rudest  labor  is  per¬ 
formed  ;  to  be  a  manufacturer  of  something  useful  is  to  render  society 
an  essential  service.  To  manufacturing  every  material  industry  is 
tributary;  upon  it  every  material  industry  is  dependent. 

The  young  man  who  elects  a  career  identified  with  some  depart¬ 
ment  of  rhanufacturing  need  not  be  hypercritical  in  the  choice  of  fields 
for  the  employment  of  his  talents  and  energies.  The  farmers  have  a 
proverb  that,  There’s  more  in  the  man  than  there  is  in  the  land,^^  which 
embodies  a  good  deal  of  practical  wisdom.  Of  manufacturing  it  may 
be  said  that  there  is  more  in  the  man  than  there  is  in  his  trade.  Gener¬ 
ally  speaking,  any  industry  which  produces  something  useful,  meeting  a 
general  and  permanent  want,  not  subject  to  the  caprices  of  arbitrary 
fashion  and  not  contrary  to  the  public  policy,  is,  in  the  average  of  years, 
as  good  a  business  to  follow  as  any  other.  As  a  rule,  selection  is  the 
result  of  the  accident  of  opportunity.  Wherever  this  leads  the  industrious 
and  ambitious  young  man,  he  will,  usually,  find  himself  as  well  off  as 
if  it  had  led  him  elsewhere.  Such  dissatisfaction  as  he  may  feel  with 
his  lot  in  life  will  be  seen,  on  close  analysis,  to  be  due  either  to  an 
exaggerated  idea  of  favorable  conditions  existing  in  lines  of  business 
with  which  he  is  unfamiliar,  or  to  a  lack  of  qualities  w’hich  are  as  essen¬ 
tial  to  success  in  one  business  sphere  as  in  another.  In  either  case  he 
will  be  encouraged  by  recalling  the  quaint  couplet  of  Herrick,  which  I 
once  found  hanging  in  the  billiard-room  of  a  manufacturer  whose  suc¬ 
cess  had  astonished  two  continents:  — 

Man’s  life’s  a  game  of  tables,  and  he  may 
'  Mend  his  bad  fortune  by  his  wiser  play.^^ 

I  knew  a  boy  who  needed  work,  and  after  some  search  for  just  the 
kind  of  work  he  wanted,  took  what  he  could  get  at  the  moment,  a  place 
in  a  little  shop  where  certain  sheet  metal  specialties  were  made.  It 
seemed  like  a  start,  not  merely  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  but  at  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  a  deep  hole  into  which  no  ladder  extended.  The  lad  was  not  a 


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287 


genius  in  any  sense,  but  he  had  good  habits,  good  judgment,  and  the 
capacity  for  practical  thinking.  He  kept  his  eyes  open  and  observed 
that  there  was  need  in  the  market  for  a  better,  safer,  and  cheaper  lantern 
than  he  could  find  in  the  stores  or  in  the  catalogues.  So  he  went  to  work 
to  make  a  lantern.  It  did  not  call  for  the'  exercise  of  inventive  faculty 
in  any  high  degree.  What  it  needed  was  what  he  had  already  given  it  — 
thoughtful  study  from  two  view-points, —  that  of  the  maker  and  that  of  the 
user.  He  built  a  lantern  and  tested  it  at  night  until  the  results  were  satis¬ 
factory.  Then  he  began  the  designing  of  certain  simple  machines  which 
should  produce  its  several  parts  cheaply  and  accurately.  He  was  neither 
an  engineer  nor  a  draughtsman,  but  he  had  ideas  and  was  able  to  make 
them  intelligible  to  others.  As  the  final  step,  he  arranged  with  his  boss 
to  make  the  lantern  for  a  small  royalty  to  himself.  It  was  exactly  what  the 
trade  wanted.  The  shop  became  a  lantern  factory,  with  the  inventor  as 
superintendent.  It  grew  and  kept  on  growing  until  it  became  a  great 
factory.  It  made  the  inventor  rich  in  less  than  half  the  life  of  the  patent, 
and  was  then  capitalized  for  a  million  dollars,  of  which  the  inventor  re¬ 
ceived  four-tenths  for  the  sole  manufacturing  rights,  and  a  large  salary 
as  president  and  general  manager.  Industrial  biography  is  full  of  such 
instances. 

Most  readers  are  familiar  with  the  condition  of  the  manufacturer  be¬ 
fore  the  days  of  machinery  and  power,  when  he  was  an  artisan  and  his 
qualifications  were  largely  in  his  manual  dexterity.  He  began  as  an  in¬ 
dentured  apprentice,  and  wasted  years  in  learning  what  the  young  man 
of  to-day  can  learn  in  months.  When  his  apprenticeship  was  finished, 
he  became  a  journeyman,  traveling  from  place  to  place  seeking  employ¬ 
ment  to  gain  the  experience  impossible  of  acquisition  during  the  long 
period  of  almost  menial  servitude  to  a  master.  Where  his  wanderings 
might  lead  him,  and  in  what  condition  it  left  him  when  completed,  de¬ 
pended  largely  upon  himself.  If  successful  in  making  a  satisfactory 
alliance,  he  might  expect  in  time  to  become  the  partner  and  successor 
of  his  master,  especially  if  so  fortunate  as  to  marry  his  fair  and  virtuous 
daughter.  The  man  who  chose  this  life  elected  identification  with  a 
caste  which,  under  no  conditions,  permitted  him  to  rank  above  the  in¬ 
ferior  social  status  of  a  base  mechanical.  Every  swashbuckler  who 
wore  a  sword  or  sported  even  the  tattered  remnants  of  a  military  uniform 
looked  down  upon  him  as  one  whose  fat  purse  was  the  rightful  prey  of  the 
soldier  of  fortune  clever  enough  to  get  it.  He  might,  later  in  life,  become 
an  alderman  or  a  burgomaster,  but  even  in  a  station  of  civic  dignity  he 
was  still  of  the  tradesman  class,  useful  to  furnish  the  king,  the  nobility, 
the  gentry,  and  the  cut-purse  the  means  of  living  without  labor,  but  having 
himself  only  such  rights  as  he  dared  assert  at  the  risk  of  life  and  liberty, 
and  was  able  to  defend  with  stout  cudgels  and  such  other  weapons  as  were 


288 


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permitted  the  common  people.  It  was  a  life  which  had  its  compensations, 
but  it  finds  no  parallel  under  modern  conditions,  where  the  successful 
manufacturer  is  the  counselor  of  monarchs  and  the  mainstay  of  gov¬ 
ernments.  Lessons  and  precepts  drawn  from  the  traditional  wisdom  of 
the  centuries  anterior  to  the  nineteenth  have  very  little  value  as  guides 
to  success  in  individual  achievement.  All  that  /remains  worth  consid¬ 
ering  of  experience  in  manufacturing,  prior  to  the  revolution  which 
brought  about  the  conditions  now  existing,  are  the  homely  precepts 
relative  to  industry  and  thrift,  which  crystallize  eternal  truths. 

With  the  advent  of  the  steam-engine  and  the  gradual  entry  of  the 
labor-saving  machine  into  the  domain  previously  monopolized  by  the 
artisan,  with  his  endowment  of  manual  dexterity,  all  the  conditions 
changed.  Without  following  the  successive  steps  of  the  change,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  the  all-round  mechanic  found  his  sphere  of  use¬ 
fulness  gradually  narrowed,  and  his  skill  brought  into  competition  with 
the  more  useful  practical  knowledge  of  the  specialized  mechanic. 

The  young  man  who  elects  to  become  a  manufacturer  will  find  vari¬ 
ous  careers  open  to  him,  but  he  should  divest  himself  of  any  mistaken 
notions  as  to  the  steps  he  should  follow  to  win  an  honorable  success.  It 
is  possible,  under  conditions  sometimes  obtaining,  to  begin  by  learning 
the  trade  —  to  rise  by  sheer  force  of  character  and  natural  capacity,  step 
by  step,  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  ladder.  Indeed,  it  is  fre¬ 
quently  done,  but  the  opportunities  for  doing  it  are  steadily  diminishing. 

For  all  but  perhaps  one  in  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  young  men,  the 
only  opportunities  offered  for  careers  in  manufacturing  lines  are  in  those 
which  produce  the  standard  articles  of  general  consumption.  The  shot¬ 
gun,  which  scatters  its  leaden  pellets  over  a  constantly  widening  area, 
and  makes  an  approximate  aim  deadly  at  short  range,  does  very  well  for 
small  game,  but  the  grooved  rifle,  sending  a  bullet  to  a  spot  no  larger 
than  the  end  of  one’s  finger,  is  the  only  effective  weapon  for  anything 
which  offers  resistance  or  repays  the  taking.  The  man  who  can  make 
shift  to  ^^do  anything  in  the  way  in  which  the  general  utility  man 
usually  does  it,  finds  his  way  inevitably  to  the  scrap-pile  of  human 
failures.  For  the  man  who  can  do  something  better  than  others  can  do 
it,  the  way  to  success  is  always  open,  and  his  opportunities  are  what  he 
is  pleased  to  make  them. 

The  young  man  who  elects  to  follow  a  career  in  manufacturing 
should  study  his  natural  qualifications,  and  determine  what  general 
class  of  work  he  is  best  fitted  for.  To  be  master  of  something  will 
give  him  the  pass-key  to  .  many  tightly-closed  and  well-guarded 
doors.  To  have  command  of  even  large  capital,  will  not  insure  him  a 
successful  career.  Large  capital  has,  in  many  instances,  been  dissi¬ 
pated  by  injudicious  manufacturing  investments;  it  has  been  shrewdly 


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289 


remarked  that  it  requires  more  talent  to  manage  capital  wisely  than  to  ac¬ 
cumulate  it.  The  shrewd  man  of  affairs  will  usually  display  more 
capacity  in  avoiding  losses  than  in  gaining  profits.  Capital  suggests  a 
comparison  between  itself  and  a  boat  running  the  Lachine  Rapids.  If 
it  is  started  right,  it  is  carried  safely  through  by  the  force  of  the  water; 
if  started  wrong,  or  unwisely  diverted  from  the  path  of  safety  by  the 
nervousness  or  ignorance  of  the  pilot,  it  is  inevitably  wrecked. 

A  manufacturing  business  organized  on  any  scale  above  that  of  the 
cobbler  at  his  bench,  or  the  farrier  at  his  anvil,  naturally  divides  itself 
into  four  departments:  Producing;  selling;  accounting;  executive  man¬ 
agement. 

To  excel  in  any  one  of  these  widely  dissimilar  departments  of  busi¬ 
ness  activity  is  as  much  as  the  average  man  can  expect  to  accomplish  in 
an  average,  lifetime.  Time  was  when  the  best,  and  indeed,  the  only, 
method  of  preparation  for  the  management  of  a  shop  was  to  learn  the 
trade  and  to  work  at  it  until  every  process  was  familiarized.  By  this 
means  a  man  became  practical,  and  to  his  ability  to  take  off  his  coat 
and  perform  with  his  own  hands  every  operation  of  the  business,  was 
attached  a  wholly  fictitious  value.  Some  may  still  find  this  method  of 
gaining  knowledge,  so  wasteful  of  time  and  tissue,  the  only  one  open  to 
them,  and  may  possess  a  mental  endowment  so  exceptional  as  to  attain 
by  it  the  position  of  a  master.  The  difficulty  with  this  method  is  that  it 
teaches  only  practice,  and  imparts  none  of  the  general  knowledge,  by 
means  of  which  practice  may  be  improved  and  made  to  conform  to  the 
requirements  of  industrial  progress. 

The  young  man  with  the  usual  grammar-school  education,  who,  fired 
with  the  laudable  ambition  to  become  one  of  the  captains  of  industry, 
enters  a  shop  to  learn  the  business  practically,  has  many  unexpected  dis¬ 
couragements  and  disappointments  in  store  for  him.  He  will  find  it 
easy  enough  to  put  himself  in  the  front  rank  of  the  wage-earners,  and  to 
command  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  employers.  They  would  be 
glad  to  fill  their  shops  with  men  just  like  him.  He  may  become  an 
assistant  foreman  or  a  foreman,  and  earn  what  is  considered  good 
wages.  But  when  vacancies  occur  on  the  staff  of  the  general  manager, 
or  heads  of  departments  are  needed,  he  will  notice  that  young  men  who 
wear  good  clothes  and  whose  hands  do  not  show  stains,  scars,  and  cal¬ 
louses  of  the  shop,  step  into  these  vacancies  and  somehow  manage  to  fill 
them  successfully.  If  he  makes  inquiry  as  to  the  antecedents  of  these 
intrusive  strangers,  he  will  find  them  to  be  graduates  of  the  technioal 
schools,  who  may  or  may  not  have  had  experience  in  minor  position-s 
elsewhere.  If  he  comes  into  such  relationship  with  them  as  is  easily 
possible  without  breaking  the  rules  of  shop  discipline,  he  will  discover 

that  they  know  a  great  many  things  of  which  he  is  ignorant.  Their 
13—19 


290 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


horizon  is  broader  than  his ;  they  think  and  reason  on  a  plane  to  him  in¬ 
accessible.  Between  his  ignorance  of  theory  and  of  the  application  of 
the  higher  mathematics  to  useful  ends,  and  their  intimate  knowledge  of 
principles,  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  which  maybe  crossed  only  as 
the  result  of  the  most  sacrificing  devotion  to  the  labor  of  self-education. 
He  soon  recognizes  that,  no  matter  what  he  may  become,  many  of  the 
'  doors  to  advancement  that  he  had  hoped  to  force  by  the  display  of  charac¬ 
ter  and  capacity,  by  tireless  industry,  and  a  careful  regard  for  the  interests 
of  his  employers,  are  effectually  closed  to  him  by  reason  of  the  limita¬ 
tions  of  his  education  and  his  unfitness  for  managerial  duties  which  de¬ 
mand  a  knowledge  of  phy.sics,  mechanics,  chemistry,  and  mathematics. 
His  mistake  was  in  overlooking  the  changed  conditions  of  industrial 
organization,  and  in  seeking  to  approach  the  control  of  production  by 
a  path  which  almost  invariably  leads  only  to  the  bench,  and  stops  there. 

In  what  precedes,  I  have  attempted  to  generalize  from  average  expe¬ 
rience.  A  hundred,  or  perhaps  a  thousand,  cases  could  be  cited  in  which, 
with  few  opportunities  for  an  elementary  education,  and  still  fewer  for 
the  acquisition  of  thorough  shop  training,  great  mechanics  have  come  to 
the  front  and  won  fame  and  fortune  through  substantial  achievement. 
The  greatest  men  of  this  class  that  I  have  ever  known  would  have  been 
greater,  the  most  successful  would  have  found  success  easier,  and  more 
satisfactory  when  gained,  if  they  had  not  been  handicapped  at  every 
step  by  the  lack  of  acquired  qualifications.  It  is  a  safe  general  rule  that 
the  young  man  who  has  the  ambition  to  succeed  in  the  department  of  a 
manufacturing  business  which  deals  with  production,  should  prepare 
himself  with  the  best  technical  education  he  has  the  means  and  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  acquire.  He  will  have  constant  use  for  every  scrap  of  general 
knowledge  that  he  can  gain.  Chemistry,  physics,  mechanics,  and  mathe¬ 
matics,  are  the  essential  tools  of  a  great  mechanic.  To  say  that  some  have 
done  great  things  without  them  is  to  state  the  exception  which  proves 
the  rule.  These  same  men  could  have  done  greater  things  with  them. 

From  the  technical  school,  the  young  man  should  enter  the  shop  in 
any  capacity  offered.  He  is  not  expected  to  serve  as  a  consulting  engi¬ 
neer,  and  does  not  need  to  wave  his  diploma  or  parade  the  initials  indic¬ 
ative  of  his  academic  degree.  An  incident  came  to  my  notice  quite 
recently  which  is  instructive  and  worth  repeating.  A  bright  lad,  with  a 
clear  title  to  write  A.  B.  and  M.  E.  after  his  name,  went  to  work  in  a 
shop  where  an  air  compressor  was  used  under  somewhat  peculiar  cir¬ 
cumstances.  His  duty  was  to  run  this  compressor,  keep  it  clean,  and  do 
whatever  else  the  foreman  thought  him  fit  for.  No  one  knew  that  he  was 
an  engineer  with  a  degree,  or  that  he  could  have  played  schoolmaster  to 
foreman  and  superintendent.  He  took  good  care  of  the  machine  under 
his  charge,  but  the  governor  gave  trouble,  and  the  representative  of  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


291 


makers  was  sent  for.  He  came,  looked  it  over,  and  spent  a  fortnight 
trying  to  make  it  work  properly.  Then  another  man  of  higher  rank 
came  and  spent  another  week  on  the  same  job.  The  young  man  an¬ 
swered  questions  respectfully  and  asked  them  so  intelligently  that  he 
soon  gathered  a  great  deal  of  useful  information.  Among  other  facts 
he  learned  that  a  simple,  practical,  and  reliable  governor  for  air  com¬ 
pressors  was  greatly  needed,  and  that  to  devise  one  would  repay  the 
effort.  He  got  out  his  books,  read  all  the  available  literature  on  air 
compressors,  and  went  to  work  on  the  problem. 

In  about  three  moilths  he  had  found  a  new  principle  in  air  com¬ 
pressor  governors,  had  worked  out  its  formulae  under  all  conditions  of 
constant  and  variable  pressure,  had  made  a  full  set  of  drawings,  had 
them  dated  and  witnessed,  and  was  ready  to  talk  business.  He 
approached  the  superintendent  of  his  own  shop,  but  got  no  other  satisfac¬ 
tion  than  that  the  concern  had  no  money  to  waste  in  amateur  experi¬ 
ments  with  other  peoples’  machines.  He  then  wrote  to  the  general 
manager  of  the  works  which  built  the  compressor,  giving  a  brief  state¬ 
ment  of  what  he  had  done.  By  return  mail  he  received  a  railroad  ticket 
and  an  invitation  to  visit  the  works.  The  result  was  that  his  idea  was 
enthusiastically  approved,  an  arrangement  was  made  for  patenting  it  in 
every  country  having  a  patent  system,  and  the  young  man  was  offered  a 
position  on  the  engineering  staff  of  the  works,  which  he  promptly 
accepted. 

When  he  returned  to  the  shop  in  which  he  had  originally  worked,  it 
was  through  the  office  instead  of  the  gate,  and  his  errand  was  to  per¬ 
fect  the  air  compressor  he  had  tended,  by  equipping  it  with  his  governor. 
He  is  now  chief  engineer  of  the  concern  he  went  to  with  nothing  but  a 
well-considered  and  useful  idea.  If  the  young  engineer  will  use  what  he 
knows  in  such  work  as  he  has  a  chance  to  do,  the  fact  of  his  capacity  for 
more  responsible  duties  will  soon  appear,  and  he  will  find  that  the  road 
to  the  top  is  open  to  him, —  whether  in  the  shop  in  which  his  career 
begins,  or  in  another,  is  immaterial.  He  will  have  more  opportunities 
than  he  has  time  to  avail  himself  of. 

The  best  kind  of  influence  is  the  reputation  of  being  thoroughly 
equipped  for  managerial  responsibility.  A  man  with  such  a  reputation, 
combined  with  character  and  good  habits,  does  not  need  to  bewail  his 
lack  of  capital.  The  latter  is  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  him,  and  will 
find  him  in  the  middle  of  Sahara,  if  need  be,  with  offers  which  influence 
could  not  secure.  I  know  a  number  of  young  men  who  entered  life 
with  no  other  capital  than  a  good  education,  who,  in  less  than  five  years 
from  the  date  of  their  start,  were  earning  the  incomes  of  millionaires. 
Some  hold  high  offices  in  great  corporations,  others  have  liberal  partici¬ 
pation  in  the  earnings  of  plants  capitalized  for  millions.  As  I  have 


292 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


already  shown,  genius  may  accomplish  this  without  the  assistance  of 
technical  knowledge,  but  the  man  who  depends  upon  genius  to  float  him 
to  success  in  manufacturing  usually  has  none,  and  mistakes  vanity  for 
that  endowment. 

Whether  the  young  man  ambitious  of  success  in  manufacturing 
should  choose  the  shop  or  the  office  is  largely  a  question  of  temperament 
and  bent.  As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be  said  that  if  fit  for  one  he  is  un¬ 
fit  for  the  other.  For  the  young  man  without  a  pronounced  mechanical 
bent,  the  office  will  generally  be  found  a  more  attractive  field  than  the 
shop.  It  is  usually  easier  to  make  something  than  to  sell  it  to  commer¬ 
cial  advantage.  In  a  manufacturing  business  the  skill  and  judgment  of 
the  mechanic  must  be  supplemented  by  the  skill  and  judgment  of  the 
merchant.  The  Bible  gives  us  a  significant  combination  —  a  trinity  in 
unity — when  it  describes  buying,  selling,  and  getting  gain  as  the 
three  functions  which  are  combined  in  a  profitable  transaction.  Millions 
of  men  can  buy  and  sell,  but  the  number  of  those  who  have  the  instinct 
of  gain-getting  is  relatively  small.  The  fruits  of  the  mechanic’s  labor 
will  not  market  themselves.  The  selling  function,  in  connection  with 
manufacturing,  is,  as  the  rule,  of  greater  value  to  the  business  than  the 
producing  function.  A  larger  volume  than  this  would  fail  to  hold  the 
records  of  the  brilliant  mechanical  achievements  of  the  past  ten  years, 
which  have  been  complete  and  heartbreaking  failures  because  the 
talent  and  industry  which  produced  them  were  not  supplemented  by  the 
commercial  skill  and  business  judgment  needed'  to  find  a  market  for 
them  and  to  establish  them  in  public  confidence. 

The  difference  between  making  goods  and  profitably  marketing  them 
is  similar  to  that  which  exists  between  editing  a  newspaper  and  publish¬ 
ing  it.  They  present  coordinate  functions,  and  exist  in  absolute  mutual 
interdependence.  To  be  a  successful  salesman,  a  young  man  needs  to 
develop  every  talent  of  his  natural  endowment.  He  can  no  more  have 
a  system  than  a  physician  can  practise  with  a  single  prescription. 
He  deals  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  and  must  be  a  shrewd 
judge  of  character.  He  encounters  all  kinds  and  combinations  of  favor¬ 
able  and  hostile  influences,  and  must  be  prepared  for  every  emergency. 
He  is  hedged  round  with  keen  competition,  and  must  meet  it  without 
sacrifices  which  involve  loss,  unless  behind  the  loss  a  large  and  compen¬ 
sating  profit  is  visible.  He  must  possess  the  capacity  for  close  analysis 
in  the  matter  of  credits,  or  he  will  make  more  sales  than  collections. 

These  are  the  elements  of  business  qualifications.  In  addition,  he 
must  have  earlier  and  more  exact  information  than  others  can  get,  or  at 
least  do  get,  as  to  trade  tendencies  and  business  opportunities.  Lacking 
prophetic  foresight  or  sure  judgment,  he  must  cultivate  to  the  highest 
development  the  power  of  rapid  and  accurate  generalization,  and  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


293 


percentage  of  his  mistakes  must  be  small.  He  should  be  capable  of 
forecasting  the  future  shrewdly,  and  needs  to  keep  his  eyes  and  ears 
open  to  indications  and  warnings  which,  if  unnoticed  or  unheeded,  may 
involve  the  loss  of  great  opportunities  or  the  encountering  of  great  dan¬ 
gers.  The  very  highest  commercial  talent  which  can  be  employed  is 
needed  in  connection  with  modern  manufacturing  operations,  and  the 
young  man  who  has  it,  or  can  acquire  it,  has  before  him  a  career  in 
which  every  avenue  leads  to  success. 

The  young  man  who  undertakes  to  be  a  salesman  under  a  competent 
general  manager  must  look  out  for  himself,  as  his  employer  is  likely  to 
set  all  kinds  of  traps  for  him.  Shrewd  managers  have  many  ways  of 
keeping  tab  on  their  outside  men.  One  has  what  he  calls  his  grave¬ 
yard,^^  an  almost  impossible  field,  where  the  man  who  can  get  business  is 
rated  a  success  from  the  start  and  has  the  best  chances  thrown  in  his 
way.  Another  has  confidential  relations  with  customers,  who  size  up  a 
new  salesman  and  report  how  he  behaves  himself  and  what  sort  of  im¬ 
pression  he  makes.  It  is  results  which  count  in  the  end,  however.  Too 
fierce  an  onslaught  for  business  usually  defeats  its  own  ends.  As  the 
late  A.  L.  Holley  wittily  remarked:  A  boiler  which  will  get  up  steam 
in  three  minutes,  may  be  expected  to  do  almost  anything  in  the  next 
three  minutes. 

The  real  talent  of  the  salesman  was  well  illustrated  by  A.  B.  Gates, 
general  agent  of  the  United  States  Life  Insurance  Company.  Mr.  Gates 
was  walking  down  Broadway,  when  a  man  in  a  great  hurry  attempted 
to  cross  the  street,  slipped  on  the  pavement  and  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  getting  tangled  up  with  a  truck.  Mr.  Gates  saw  the  incident, 
buttonholed  the  man  the  moment  he  reached  the  sidewalk,  said  something 
to  him  which  others  did  not  hear,  and  before  he  released  him  had  taken 
him  to  the  company’s  office,  put  him  through  a  medical  examination,  and 
had  insured  his  life  for  ten  thousand  dollars. 

A  good  story  is  told  of  a  clever  salesman  employed  by  the  Bethlehem 
Steel  Company,  who  corralled  a  party  of  Russian  officers  who  had  come 
to  this  country  to  place  a  government  order  for  armor- plate.  He  enter¬ 
tained  them  at  luncheon  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  company  he  represented. 
He  realized,  however,  that  his  guests  were  a  bit  offish,  and  saw  that  he 
must  do  something  quite  unusual  to  capture  them.  After  the  luncheon 
toasts  were  offered  and  drunk,  among  others,  one  to  His  Imperial 
Majesty,  the  Czar.  Every  Russian  drained  his  glass,  snapped  the  stem, 
and  threw  the  fragments  over  his  shoulder  to  the  floor.  They  explained 
that  when  the  health  of  the  Czar  was  drunk,  no  loyal  subject  would  leave 
his  glass  in  condition  to  be  profaned  by  other  use.  This  gave  the  sales¬ 
man  an  idea.  Making  sure  that  the  door  behind  him  was  open,  and  that 
he  could  make  a  run  for  it,  he  offered  a  toast  to  His  Excellency,  the 


294 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


President  of  the  United  StatesP^  The  moment  it  was  honored  he  took  a 
double  hitch  on  the  tablecloth  and  started  for  the  door,  sweeping  every¬ 
thing  to  the  floor  in  a  promiscuous  wreck.  The  Russians  were  astounded, 
and  on  demanding  an  explanation  were  gravely  told  that  ^^when  the 
toast  to  the  President  is  drunk,  the  patriotic  American  makes  it  his  busi¬ 
ness  to  break  every  dish  on  the  table.  The  Russians  were  delighted. 
They  slapped  him  on  the  back,  shouted  over  him,  and  pronounced  his 
performance  the  greatest  thing  they  had  ever  seen.  It  cost  the  com¬ 
pany  about  $300  for  dishes  and  glass  destroyed,  but  the  salesman  got 
the  order. 

In  manufacturing,  the  function  of  accounting  possesses  a  steadily 
increasing  importance.  By  accounting  I  do  not  mean  the  perfunctory 
bookkeeping  which  was  once  considered  sufficient.  Keeping  manufac¬ 
turing  accounts  is  an  art  by  itself,  and  some  of  the  brightest  minds  in 
the  business  world  have  found  a  lifelong  employment  in  seeking  solu¬ 
tions  for  the  modern  riddle  of  the  sphynx:  What  is  the  cost  of  goods, 
and  how  shall  that  cost  be  apportioned  so  that  every  part  of  the  produc¬ 
tion  and  distribution  may  bear  its  fair  share  of  the  expense  and  receive 
its  fair  share  of  the  profit  ?  I  have  compared  this  to  the  riddle  of  the 
sphynx  in  the  classic  fable,  for  the  reason  that  those  to  whom  it  is  pro¬ 
pounded  must  guess  it  correctly  or  be  torn  in  pieces  by  the  process  of 
bankruptcy.  Ignorance  of  cost,  and  the  mistaking  of  loss  for  profit, 
have  wrecked  more  promising  manufacturing  enterprises  than  all  other 
causes  together.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  see  a  great  and  long-estab¬ 
lished  house  which  has  expanded  its  trade  and  paid  liberal  annual  divi¬ 
dends,  suddenly  collapse,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  public  and  the 
consternation  of  its  officers  and  stockholders;  and  to  find  on  critical 
examination  that  it  has  nothing  left  of  capital  or  surplus.  It  is  difficult 
for  one  having  no  manufacturing  experience  to  know  how  this  could  be 
without  dishonesty  and  the  deliberate  falsification  of  the  books,  but  it 
may  very  well  happen  without  either,  being  caused  by  no  worse  wrong 
than  dependence  upon  incompetence  in  the  accounting  department. 
Not  to  know  exactly  what  his  goods  cost  him,  is  for  the  manufacturer  as 
perilous  as  sailing  the  ocean  without  a  compass.  The  error  usually  lies 
in  fictitious  inventory  valuations,  .through  which  the  business  appears  to 
be  growing  rich  in  productive  assets,  when  in  point  of  fact  its  only 
tangible  asset  is  the  residuum  of  dry  rot.  Where  capital  and  surplus 
have  gone  is  into  the  making  of  goods  at  a  cost  above  their  selling  price, 
without  knowing  until  too  late  that  nothing  remains  with  which  to  con¬ 
tinue  the  process. 

The  young  man  with  the  requisite  natural  qualifications  who  will 
make  himself  an  expert  in  manufacturing  accounts,  will  find  that  this 
work  offers  hirn  a  satisfactory  career,  probably  bringing  him  many 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


295 


Opportunities  for  honorable  and  lucrative  identification  with  great  enter¬ 
prises.  Few  offices  are  more  important  in  an  industrial  organization 
than  that  of  treasurer  and  financial  manager,  and  it  is  within  the  truth 
to  say  that  such  positions  are  much  more  numerous  than  are  men  quali¬ 
fied  by  character  and  attainments  to  fill  them.  The  subject  of  manu¬ 
facturing  accounts  has  a  literature  of  its  own,  and  may  be  mastered  by 
any  one  who  will  give  it  the  time  and  thought  required  to  become  an 
expert  in  any  branch  of  applied  science. 

In  the  field  of  executive  management,  the  man  endowed  by  nature 
with  the  intelligence,  judgment,  and  force  of  character,  which  are  the 
basic  elements  of  executive  ability,  has,  in  connection  with  manufacturing, 
a  field  in  which  the  successes  possible  admit  of  characterization  as  mag¬ 
nificent.  The  vice-president  of  one  of  the  greatest  industrial  organiza¬ 
tions  ever  formed,  which  for  nearly  half  a  century  has  been  one  of  the 
most  powerful  corporations  in  the  world,  once  said  to  the  writer:  ^^We 
have  no  trouble  in  filling  positions  satisfactorily  until  we  reach  those 
which  are  worth  a  yearly  salary  of  $10,000.  From  that  up  the  difficulty 
steadily  increases.  We  have  now  three  vacancies,  and  to  men  capable  of 
filling  them  I  would  gladly  give  contracts  of  employment  for  ten  years 
at  $20,000  a  year.  We  are  ready  to  pay  more  $10,000  salaries  than  we 
can  find  men  capable  of  earning  them.^^  The  venerable  precept  that 
there  is  always  room  at  the  top  crystallizes  a  truth  which  is  every 
year  more  clearly  emphasized,  and  which  is  much  truer  than  when  first 
formulated. 

The  ideal  executive  is  a  broad-minded  man  of  affairs,  who  is  wise 
enough  to  recognize  the  fact  that  he  has  high  duties  which  will  not  per¬ 
mit  him  to  waste  his  time  in  doing  things  which  he  can  have  done.  The 
moment  he  forgets  this,  and  allows  himself  to  be  saddled  with  work 
which  can  be  safely  assigned  to  others,  he  puts  himself  in  competition 
with  cheaper  men,  and  so  much  of  his  time  as  is  thus  employed  is  im¬ 
mensely  overpaid.  He  need  not  be  a  man  with  technical  qualifications; 
it  is  enough  if  he  knows  a  capable  superintendent  when  he  finds  him, 
can  trust  his  own  judgment,  and  has  the  nerve  to  hold  his  subordinates 
strictly  and  justly  responsible  for  results.  Under  no  conditions  can  he 
afford  to  assume  any  part  of  the  responsibility  of  a  subordinate.  What 
he  approves  and  authorizes  is  carried  out  by  the  latter,  who  must  have 
an  undivided  responsibility  in  his  sphere,  or  he  cannot  be  held  to  an  un¬ 
shared  accountability.  The  executive  head  need  not  be  a  merchant,  but 
he  requires  a  fair  share  of  the  instinct,  and  should  perfectly  understand 
the  system  by  which  the  distribution  of  product  is  effected.  He  need 
not  be  skilled  in  the  details  of  corporate  finance,  but  he  does  require  a 
broad  comprehension  of  financial  problems.  He  need  not  be  an  expert 
accountant,  but  if  he  cannot  analyze  the  books  of  his  business,  and  does 


296 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


not  know  what  results  mean  when  reaehed,  he  is  incompetent  This 
combination  of  qualities  is  possessed  only  by  those  who  are  born  leaders 
of  men.  That  they  can  be  acquired  is  doubtful;  that  they  may  be  de¬ 
veloped  by  training,  as  a  man  with  the  frame  and  constitution  of  an  ath¬ 
lete  may  develop  his  muscles  and  expand  his  lungs,  is  undoubtedly  true. 
For  the  reason  that  training  would  never  transform  the  club-footed, 
hunchbacked  cripple  into  an  athlete,  it  would  probably  fail  to  correct 
the  weaknesses  of  a  character  deficient  in  the  qualities  of  masterfulness. 

While  the  executive  with  important  responsibilities  needs  to  guard  at 
all  times  against  too  much  concentration  of  attention  upon  the  details  of 
his  own  business,  to  know  what  others  are  doing  is  indispensable.  The 
value  of  such  knowledge  cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  by  an  anecdote 
of  Andrew  Carnegie,  probably  the  most  conspicuously  successful  manu¬ 
facturer  of  this  or  any  other  country.  Mr.  Carnegie  is  not  a  metal¬ 
lurgist.  He  could  not  run  the  least  important  department  of  his  plant 
to  his  own  satisfaction.  He  is  not  a  merchant,  and  would  doubtless  have 
wasted  his  time  in  attention  to  commercial  details.  He  is  not  an  ac¬ 
countant,  and  probably  could  not  earn  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  as  a 
bookkeeper.  But  he  is  a  great  executive,  doubtless  the  greatest  of  mod¬ 
ern  times;  he  created  a  business  which  for  many  years  dominated  the 
iron  and  steel  markets  of  this  continent.  The  anecdote  I  am  about  to 
tell  I  have  from  Mr.  Carnegie’s  own  lips.  Its  value  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  it  perfectly  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  the  executive  head  of  a 
great,  aggressive,  and  constantly  expanding  business  was  in  the  habit  of 
meeting  the  exigencies  of  his  position. 

One  day  there  came  to  Mr.  Carnegie’s  office  in  Pittsburg  a  party  of 
gentlemen,  who  introduced  themselves  as  a  eommittee  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  a  company  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  steel  products 
in  friendly  competition  with  the  Carnegie  plant.  Their  errand  was 
frankly  stated.  Their  company  recognized  the  fact  that  its  business 
was  less  perfectly  organized  and  less  ably  managed  than  his,  and  they 
had  come  as  a  committee  to  ask  if  he  would  show  them  his  system,  to 
the  end  that  their  own  might  be  improved  and  modernized.  Under  the 
circumstances  the  request  was  not  an  improper  one.  Mr.  Carnegie  met 
the  gentlemen  cordially  and  assured  them  of  his  entire  readiness  to  show 
them  anything  they  wanted  to  see  in  his  works  or  his  office.  He  dis¬ 
claimed  a  desire  to  make  a  mystery  of  anything  which  was  tributary  to 
his  success,  but  added  that  the  information  they  wanted,  while  freely  at 
their  command,  would  be  valueless  to  them,  for  the  reason  that  they  would 
find  themselves  neither  able  nor  willing  to  make  use  of  it.  He  then  in¬ 
vited  them  to  accompany  him  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  The  first  room 
they  entered  was  an  office  separated  from  the  bustle  of  the  general 
counting-room.  The  visitors  were  invited  to  look  about  them.  This,^^ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


297 


said  Mr.  Carnegie,  is  the  key  to  my  business  system.  The  man  at  the 
desk  in  the  corner  is  one  of  my  highest  salaried  employees.  The  others 
are  his  assistants.  This  room  and  the  work  it  does  cost  me  $80,000  a 
year.  It  does  not  add  a  dollar  directly  to  the  earnings  of  my  business. 
It  has  no  connection  with  design,  improvement,  analysis,  test,  produc¬ 
tion,  sale,  distribution,  or  finance.  The  whole  work  of  this  room  is  to 
keep  me  accurately  advised  on  every  point  concerning  which  I  need  in¬ 
formation.  Primarily,  it  is  my  bureau  of  audit,  and  its  work  enables  me 
to  put  my  finger  on  any  weak  spot  in  my  business  as  soon  as  it  appears. 
It  is  also  a  bureau  of  information.  Through  it  I  learn  what  is  going  on 
all  over  the  country,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  without  leaving  this 
room  I  could  tell  you  more  about  the  operations  of  yo,ur  plant  and  the 
cost  of  your  material  and  product  than  you  know  or  could  find  out  from 
your  own  records.  The  daily  reports  of  this  office  reach  me  every 
morning,  wherever  I  may  be.  They  follow  me  to  New  York  or  across 
the  ocean,  and  however  much  delayed  in  transit,  the  sequence  is  never 
broken.  This  office  is  worth  not  only  what  it  costs,  but  a  great  deal 
more.  It  is  the  axis  of  my  whole  business  system.  My  reason  for  say¬ 
ing  that  the  inquiry  you  have  undertaken  would  be  profitless  to  you  is 
due  to  the  conviction  that  you  would  not  recommend  to  your  board  a 
fraction  of  my  expenditure  for  the  purpose  of  information  getting,  and 
that  your  board  would  not  approve  the  recommendation  if  you  did  make 
it.  If  I  am  right  in  this  I  will  say,  frankly,  that  it  would  be  a  waste 
of  time  to  g6  further.  The  committee  agreed  with  him,  and,  like  the 
young  man  in  the  parable,  went  away  sorrowful. 

Executive  capacity  is  composed  of  many  elements.  Its  basis  is  good 
judgment  as  to  the  policy  of  a  business  for  the  moment,  for  the  day,  and 
for  five  years  to  come.  No  closet  man  with  the  introspective  habit  of 
thought  is  capable  of  meeting  this  requirement.  It  demands,  first,  the 
power  to  estimate  men  and  judge  of  their  actions  with  judicial  freedom 
from  predilection  or  prejudice ;  second,  the  ability  to  define,  fix,  and  respect 
responsibility;  third,  just  and  intelligent  judgment  of  results,  and  the 
ability  to  subordinate  personal  feelings  and  friendships  to  a  proper  con¬ 
ception  of  duty.  To  a  man  who  has  these  qualities,  and  whose  character 
and  life  are  in  keeping  with  them,  the  opportunities  offered  in  manufac¬ 
turing  are  without  limit.  No  matter  where  he  starts,  he  can  go  to  the 
top  if  he  wants  to. 

All  writing  which  is  distinctly  didactic  in  purpose,  should  begin  with, 
or  lead  up  to,  a  thesis.  The  .thesis  which  a  survey  of  the  field  warrants 
in  the  present  instance  may  be  formulated  as  follows :  — 

At  no  time  since  civilisation  began  has  the  field  of  manufacturing  offered 
opportunities  comparable  to  those  now  presented  to  the  man  with  the 
capacity  and  ambitio7i  to  learn  to  do  any  one  thing  well. 


298 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  only  challenge  to  discussion  which  this  proposition  offers  will  be 
discovered  by  those  who  see  in  great  industrial  combinations,  mergers, 
trusts,  and  the  like,  the  evidences  of  tendencies  calculated  to  magnify  the 
power  of  associated  capital,  and  to  dwarf  and  shrink  the  individual  by 
destroying  his  individuality  and  making  him  an  inconsequential  unit  in 
the  system  which  absorbs,  exhausts,  and  rejects  him.  The  fallacy  of  this 
view  is  found  in  the  fact  that  capital  is  merely  the  instrument  by  which 
human  intelligence  attains  the  ends  it  seeks  to  accomplish.  It  is  as  inert 
of  itself  as  a  hammer  or  a  shovel.  To  set  it  usually  in  motion  and  to 
employ  it  to  profitable  ends,  calls  for  the  highest  development  of  individ¬ 
uality  of  which  the  mind  can  conceive.  Individuality  is  at  a  high  and 
constantly  increasing  premium.  The  man  who  rises  above  his  fellows  in 
capacity,  who  can  do  something  better  than  the  average  man  can  do  it, 
who  can  be  depended  on  to  do  it  conscientiously,  and  who  can  adapt  him¬ 
self  to  changing  and  expanding  conditions  without  displaying  unexpected 
limitations,  is  wanted  urgently  in  every  part  of  our  industrial  system. 
He  does  not  have  to  engage  in  a  weary  quest  for  capital  with  which  to 
set  his  energies  in  motion.  It  will  promptly  recognize  him  afar  off,  run 
to  meet  him,  clothe  him  with  the  robes  and  insignia  of  authority,  and 
divide  with  him  on  his  own  terms  the  results  produced  by  the  combina¬ 
tion  of  brains  and  money.  The  victims  of  the  modern  system  of  indus¬ 
trial  organization  are  the  men  without  individuality, —  the  commonplace, 
average  men,  who  can  do  nothing  which  others  cannot  do  as  well  or 
better. 

The  tendencies  of  industrial  development,  just  now  very  marked  in 
the  direction  of  immense  aggregations  of  plant  and  capital,  so  far  from 
placing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  individual  ambition,  have  multiplied  its 
opportunities  a  hundredfold.  Without  the  cooperation  of  the  best 
talent  obtainable,  these  great  consolidations  would  be  as  helpless  as  ocean 
liners  at  sea  without  officers.  They  are  constantly  changing,  like  the 
groupings  in  the  kaleidoscope,  giving  daily  opportunities  for  qualified  men 
to  come  to  the  front  and  show  their  fitness  for  places  commanding 
princely  salaries.  To  think  otherwise  is  to  ignore  the  obvious  facts  of 
experience. 


Warehousing. —  The  depositing  or  storing  of  goods  in  a  warehouse 
under  the  care  and  inspection  of  government  authorities.  During  the 
period  of  warehousing  customs  duties  may  remain  unpaid.  In  the 
event  of  goods  remaining  beyond  a  specified  time  with  charges  unpaid 
the  goods  may  be  sold  at  public  auction. 


,  299 


WOMAN’S  RISE  TO  LEGAL  EQUALITY 


Selfishness  the  Strongest  Impulse  of  Humanity  —  The  Entry  of  Woman  into 
Business  —  Law  as  a  Rule  of  Conduct  —  Many  Statute  Laws  Practically 
Obsolete  —  The  Popular  Will  and  Extraordinary  Emergencies  —  American 
Constitutional  Law  Largely  Created  by  Marshall  —  Its  Later  Develop¬ 
ment —  The  Law’s  Operation  on  Woman  —  Legal  Equality  Reaches  Its 
Fullest  Development  in  this  Country. 

The  present  legal  situation  of  women  is  so  greatly  different  from 
what  it  was  within  the  memory  of  persons  still  living,  that 
every  intelligent  woman  must  be  interested  to  know  why  and 
how  the  change  has  been  effected.  By  nature,  the  average  man  is 
stronger  than  the  average  woman,  and  in  the  earliest  days  of  hu¬ 
manity,  when  individual  might  made  individual  right,  it  would  seem 
that  the  weaker  member  of  the  race  must  have  been  at  the  mercy  or 
grace  of  the  stronger  member.  But  so  long  as  men  and  women  have  ex¬ 
isted  together  in  this  world,  the  latter  have  had  qualities  of  their  own  to 
compensate  for  the  inferiority  in  mere  physical  power,  and  there  is  no 
evidence  that  women,  anywhere,  at  any  time,  have  been  submerged. 
If  they  had  been,  that  balance  which,  by  natural  law,  is  necessary  to 
existence,  would  have  been  destroyed,  and  women  would  have  ceased 
to  exist.  In  that  event,  there  would  be  no  woman  question,  nor  men 
to  consider  and  decide  it. 

After  allowing  for  that  instinctive  affection  for  offspring  by  which 
the  race  is  kept  alive  from  one  generation  to  another,  selfishness  is  prob¬ 
ably  the  strongest  natural  impulse  of  humankind.  If  the  impulse  had  full 
play,  the  human  world  would  be  an  aggregation  of  individuals,  each 
living  according  to  the  individual  will,  or  dying  under  the  operation 
of  some  stronger  will.  But  the  impulse  has  never  had  full  play,  be¬ 
cause  of  the  natural  tendency  to  association,  and  the  absolute  neces¬ 
sity  of  association,  with  its  obvious  advantages.  So  that  even  savages  live 
in  societies,  and  when  once  the  most  primitive  tribal  organization  comes 
into  view,  women  are  seen  to  have  their. part  in  it,  and  a  part  suffi¬ 
ciently  influential  to  make  life  at  least  tolerable  to  them. 

Civilized  societies  have  a  larger  and  more  complex  organization 
than  has  a  tribe  of  savages,  and  in  such  an  organization,  the  relations 
of  women  become  more  extended  and  less  simple.  The  general 
tendency  and  effect  of  civilization  is  to  equalize  conditions  between 


300 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


men  and  women.  Sometimes  this  equality  has  been  a  matter  of  law 
as  well  as  of  fact,  but,  oftener,  the  contrary.  Religion  among  the 
Greeks,  and  policy  among  the  Romans,  condemned  women  to  legal  in¬ 
feriority.  In  England,  the  feudal  system,  under  which  the  land  was 
held  on  condition  of  military  service,  explains  the  extreme  legal 
subordination  of  women.  When  that  system  flourished,  land  and  its 
appurtenances  constituted  what  is  still  called  real  property ;  so  that 
personal  property,  now  so  important,  cut  a  very  small  flgure  in  law,  as  it 
did  in  fact.  After  the  system  had  passed  away,  the  legal  disabilities 
of  women,  due  to  it,  remained.  That  they  remained  so  long  is  evi¬ 
dence  that  they  were  not,  in  general,  severely  felt.  The  actual  rela¬ 
tions  upon  which  men  and  women  live  under  any  system  of  law,  are 
influenced  much  more  by  morality  and  affection  than  by  the  law. 
Furthermore,  long  before  the  days  of  married  woman’s  property  acts, 
marriage  settlements,  and  the  enlightened  action  of  courts  of  equity, 
had  relieved  women  from  many  of  the  practical  hardships  of  the  worn- 
out  feudal  system. 

It  was  the  entry  of  women  into  the  business  world  that  gave  oc¬ 
casion,  in  England  and  America,  for  the  married  woman’s  property 
acts.  Business  activity  among  women  could  not  be  confined  to  single 
women,  yet  if  married  women  were  to  share  in  it,  they  must  be  free 
to  apply  their  means  and  capacities  to  their  business  ventures.  The 
property  they  brought  into,  or  acquired  during,  marriage,  was  their 
capital,  and  it  was  therefore  released  from  the  husband’s  control  and 
rescued  from  the  hazards  of  his  own  business.  '  All  business  relations 
are  based  upon  contract  —  that  is,  upon  an  express  agreement,  pursu¬ 
ant  to  which  a  matter  of  business  is  conducted,  or  upon  an  implied 
agreement,  derived  by  the  law  from  the  conduct  of  the  parties — so 
that,  in  order  to  do  business,  a  married  woman  must  be  free  to  make 
express  agreements,  or  to  have  implied  agreements  imputed  to  her,  or 
to  the  other  party  for  her  benefit,  by  the  law.  Such,  in  short,  is  the 
story  of  the  emancipation  of  women  on  the  business  side  of  their 
lives,  for  their  domestic  subordination  in  marriage  is  retained,  and 
they  have  not  yet  been  admitted  to  political  equality  with  men. 

Women,  like  men,  are  constantly  under  the  law.  This  is  equally 
true  in  a  savage  tribe,  a  barbarous  community,  or  a  civilized  state. 
A  man  or  woman  would  have  to  lead  a  solitary  life  in  some  wild  and 
untenanted  region,  in  order  to  live  free  of  human  law.  To  live  in 
association  is  to  be  subject  to  an  external  constraint,  compelling  one 
sometimes  to  do  what  he  wishes  not  to  do,  and  at  other  times  to  re¬ 
frain  from  doing  the  thing  that  he  desires.  This  constraint  is  the 
force  of  the  whole  community  exerted  against  one  of  its  members. 

The  law  human  has  many  aspects,  varying  according  to  time,  place, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


301 


and  circumstance;  but  it  possesses  a  single  soul.  Its  animating  prin¬ 
ciple  is  that  each  individual  shall  pursue  his  happiness  in  his  own 
way,  Vv^ithout  interfering  with  the  right  of  every  other  individual  to 
do  the  same.  The  object  of  the  law,  then,  is  freedom,  and  freedom 
consists  in  what  has  been  aptly  termed  regulated  selfishness.^^  Un¬ 
regulated  selfishness  would  be  freedom  only  for  those  so  fortunately 
placed  as  to  command  all  their  desires;  for  those  whose  equal  rights 
should  be  thereby  invaded,  it  would  be  slavery.  Anarchy  proposes 
that  each  individual  shall  pursue  his  happiness  in  his  own  way,  with¬ 
out  interfering  with  the  equal  right  of  every  other  individual;  and  to 
that  extent  it  runs  side  by  side  with  the  law.  But  whereas  the  law 
uses  the  combined  power  of  all  for  the  protection  .of  each,  anarchy 
proposes  to  leave  the  protection  of  all  to  the  innate  goodness  of  each 
individual.  Its  argument  is  that  authority  and  force  have  produced 

the  minimum  of  freedom  and  justice,  with  the  maximum  of  tyranny 

* 

and  injustice;  so  that  individualism  could  not  possibly  do  worse,  and 
ought  to  have  the  opportunity  to  show  that  it  could  do  better.  The 
counter-argument  for  legality  is  that  the  law  fails,  in  operation,  to 
attain  its  theoretical  perfection  because  of  the  native  defects  of  the 
human  character,  and  that  the  average  conscience  of  the  community, 
represented  by  its  common  authority,  and  working  by  its  collective 
force,  is  a  better  reliance  than  a  system  which  would  leave  the  good 
individual  to  overcome  the  bad  individual,  if  he  could,  by  his  own 
authority  and  might. 

No  doubt  the  defective  working  of  the  law  is  the  cause  of  much 
of  the  popular  complaint  against  legal  arrangements  and  methods; 
but  those  who  rail  at  law  and  government  are  but  feeding  the  flame 
of  anarchy.  For  there  is  no  alternative  between  letting  the  commu- 
nity  govern  the  individual  as  best  it  can,  and  allowing  the  individual 
to  dominate  the  community  even  to  his  worst.  Even  in  a  state  of 
anarchy,  women  would  have  their  chance;  because  among  the  human 
kind,  however  low  the  social  scale,  brute  force  has  never  alone  pre¬ 
vailed.  But  anarchy,  as  an  experiment  in  government,  is  centuries 
away  at  the  earliest,  and  meanwhile,  as  vacancy  is  impossible,  law 
must  hold  the  field. 

The  law  is  of  particular  interest  to  women  because,  while  it  has 
subjected  them  to  men  whenever  and  wherever  the  general  good 
has  required,  it  has  shielded  them  from  abuse  of  the  subjection,  and  has 
relieved  them  from  it  as  far,  and  as  fast,  as  the  public  interest  has 
permitted.  It  also  equalizes  to  them  their  lack  of  physical  power  in 
comparison  with  the  other  sex.  Their  influence  for  good  upon  that 
sex  is  a  powerful  means  for  bettering  the  operation  of  the  law,  which 
is  perfect  in  theory  and  intention,  but  incapable  of  reaching  its  own 


302 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Standard  in  practice,  so  long  as  the  human  agencies  for  working  it  are 
below  the  standard. 

This  phrase,  ^Hhe  law,^^  is  a  collective  term  for  all  the  laws  that 
at  any  time  are  in  force  within  the  limits  of  a  community.  A  law  is 
a  rule  of  conduct,  prescribed  by  a  superior  to  an  inferior,  and  enforced 
by  the  power  of  the  superior.  This  power  of  enforcement  is  what 
distinguishes  a  law  from  those  moral  precepts  that  practically  regulate 
so  much  of  the  conduct  of  conscientious,  orderly  people  toward  one 
another.  But  the  force  behind  morality  is  either  religion,  a  good 
conscience,  or  public  opinion,  and  where  those  fail,  and  the  law  falls 
short  of  the  requirements  of  morality,  there  is  no  remedy.  The  law 
is  made  for  the  average  needs  of  the  community,  and  its  force  can  be 
directed  only  to  the  persons  or  goods  of  offenders  against  it,  whereas 
morality  reaches  to  the  nicest  and  most  delicate  relations  between  one 
person  and  another,  and  neither  hanging,  imprisonment,  nor  seizure  of 
goods  can  turn  a  blunt  conscience  into  a  tender  one.  Women,  with 
their  finer  feelings,  are  peculiarly  apt  to  suppose  that  whatever  an  in¬ 
dividual  ought  to  do,  the  law  requires  him  to  do;  and  much  of  their 
distrust  of  law  as  a  protection  or  remedy  arises  from  their  ignorance 
of  where  the  law  ends  and  morality  continues  the  journey  alone.  For 
while  all  law  is  morality,  all  morality  is  not  law.  A  lady  goes  to  a 
jeweler  and  tells  him  that  she  wishes  to  buy  a  diamond  ring.  He  is 
morally  bound  to  offer  or  to  sell  her  nothing  but  a  ring  set  with  a  gen¬ 
uine  diamond.  Legally,  he  may  show  her  a  ring  set  with  an  imita¬ 
tion  diamond,  and  may  praise  its  brilliancy  and  purity  and  express  all 
sorts  of  extravagant  opinions  about  it.  When  he  has  done  talking, 
there  are  two  legal  courses  open  to  the  woman.  She  is  at  liberty  to 
exercise  her  own  judgment  upon  what  she  has  seen  and  heard,  and  to 
complete  the  purchase  accordingly.  Or  she  may  tell  the  jeweler  that 
she  means  to  buy  the  ring  in  reliance  upon  what  he  has  said  about 
the  genuineness  of  the  diamond,  the  fashionableness  of  the  setting,  the 
fairness  of  the  price,  or  any  other  representation  that  might  rea¬ 
sonably  affect  the  mind  of  an  intelligent  person;  and  then,  if  he  per¬ 
mits  her  to  complete  the  purchase,  he  stands  in  law  as  warranting  the 
truth  of  all  the  representations  of  fact  upon  which  she  has  told  him 
she  is  relying.  Mere  matters  of  opinion  he  does  not  warrant,  for  he 
may  have  believed  what  he  said  about  the  ring  being  worth  more 
than  he  now  asked  for  it.  But  if  she  tells  him  that  she  is  buying 
upon  his  statement  that  he  is  offering  the  ring  to  her  for  twenty-five 
dollars  less  than  he  had  ever  before  offered  or  sold  a  ring  of  that 
kind  for,  and  he  then  completes  the  sale,  he  has  guaranteed  that  he 
is  selling  that  ring  to  her  at  twenty-five  dollars  less  than  its  fair, 
local  market  price.  If  the  representation  proves  false,  and  it  turns 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


303 


out  that  he  has  sold  such  ringfs  for  twenty-five  dollars  less  than  the 
price  to  her,  she  cannot  legally  set  aside  the  sale,  nor  get  back  from 
the  jeweler  fifty  dollars  of  the  price  paid.  But  she  can  recover  the 
excess  of  twenty-five  dollars,  because  that  represents  the  exact  amount 
of  her  reliance  upon  the  statements  of  the  jeweler  as  to  the  question 
of  value.  The  law  will  not  go  further  than  the  reason  of  the  case, 
and  the  diligence  of  the  person  invoking  its  aid,  requires.  Much  of 
the  shopping  of  women  these  days  is  done  at  bargain  stores,  or  on 
bargain  days,  or  at  bargain  counters,  or  as  to  bargain  lots  or  rem¬ 
nants.  The  law  of  warranty  applies  to  these  transactions,  but  if  shop¬ 
pers  generally  attempted  to  exact  warranties,  there  would  soon  be  an 
end  of  bargains.  A  shopping  'bargain,  in  general,  consists  in  the 
purchase  of  something  not  particularly  wanted  at  a  price  above  its 
present  value  to  the  purchaser;  but  bargains  are  profitable  to  the  one 
party,  and  pleasing  to  the  other,  and  as  profit  is  pleasure  and  pleasure 
is  profit,  it  is  self-evident  that  bargains  are  good  things  all  around, 
and  that  the  law  need  not  concern  itself  about  them  further  than  to 
bestow  upon  them  a  benevolent  smile. 

The  efficiency  of  a  law  depends  upon  the  degree  of  success 

attained  in  enforcing  its  penalty  upon  violators.  Morality  finds  its 
strength  in  conscience  and  feeling,  and  in  many  cases,  these  operate 
so  powerfully  as  to  surpass  anything  that  mere  law  might  hope  to 
achieve;  as  when  a  man  does  right  because  to  do  wrong  would  fill 
him  with  intolerable  remorse,  or  because  he  dare  not  face  the  reproach 
of  those  in  whose  esteem  he  lives.  But  a  law  without  a  penalty 
would  be  an  engine-boiler  without  steam,  and  a  law  with  a  penalty 
that  could  not  be  enforced,  or  that  could  be  only  occasionally 

enforced,  would  be  like  a  boiler  incapable  of  converting  its 

water  into  steam.  Many  laws  nominally  existent  lack  steam 
and  steaming  power,  and  are  therefore  practically  obsolete.  This 
is  because  they  are  grown  out  of  date,  or  because  they  have 

lost  the  support  of  public  sentiment.  Out-of-date  laws  are  many  of 
the  so-called  blue  laws  for  Sabbath  day  observances,  for  people  in 
general  do  not  now  regard,  or  spend,  Sunday  as  was  the  custom  in 
former  times.  When  public  sentiment  turned  against  capital  punish¬ 
ment  for  a  multitude  of  comparatively  petty  crimes,  judges  and  juries 
ceased  in  great  measure  to  enforce  the  law.  The  law  was  finally 
altered,  not  so  much  to  save  sheep-stealers  and  cut-purses  from  being 
hanged,  as  to  do  away  with  the  clumsy  evasions  of  the  letter  of  the 
law,  and  with  the  injury  done  to  the  popular  spirit  of  legality  by  re¬ 
taining  laws  that  shocked  the  public  conscience. 

In  free  countries,  public  feeling  both  molds  the  law  and  gives  it 
vigor,  and  in  matters  that  concern  the  domestic  relations,  the  feeling 


304  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

/ 

of  women  has  long  been  potent,  probably  more  so  than  if  they  had 
been  directly  engaged  in  politics.  The  too  easy  divorce  laws  of  some 
of  the  states  are  due  to  the  resolve  of  mismated  wives  to  free  them¬ 
selves  from  a  condition  that  bears  more  hardly  upon  them  than  it 
possibly  could  upon  mismated  husbands.  When  women  began  to 
take  to  business  and  business  employments,  their  agitation  to  be  put 
on  a  proper  footing  bore  fruit  for  them  in  the  long  series  of  new 
laws  that  have  brought  women  up  to  the  legal  business  capacity  of 
men.  Public  law  insures  public  security,  and  never  can  become  the 
agent  of  public  oppression.  It  sometimes  bears  heavily  upon  indi¬ 
viduals,  but  even  then  very  often  through  their  own  default. 

When  a  despotic  authority  makes  and  enforces  the  law  of  the 
community,  it  nevertheless  works  feebly  if  the  community,  as  a 
whole,  is  opposed  to  it.  A  law  really  works  less  in  accordance  with 
its  form  than  with  its  spirit,  and  its  spirit  is  what  the  public  feeling 
about  the  law  makes  it. 

Borne  upon  as  they  are  by  the  law,  both  as  members  of  the 
general  community  and  in  some  special  characters  of  their  own, 
women  should  understand  that  the  laws  under  which  they  live  are 
not  the  fancies  of  theorists,  the  whims  of  dreamers,  the  devices  of 
self-seekers,  or  puzzles  invented  by  a  professional  class  which  lives  by 
the  law.  Such  laws  are  constantly  being  brought  into  existence,  but 
they  perish  as  soon  as  public  sentiment  gets  a  grip  upon  them.  The 
laws  under  which  a  woman  lives  in  her  own  country  and  community 
are  such  as  the  general  ’sentiment  approves  and  enforces,  and  are 
therefore  worthy  of  her  examination  and  support.  In  the  time  of  the 
Civil  War,  government  in  both  the  North  and  the  South,  was  tyran¬ 
nical,  and  taxation  was  merciless;  but  the  tyranny  and  exaction  were 
under  legal  forms  and  had  the  popular  support,  so  that  they  worked 
with  ease,  and  vanished  speedily  with  the  occasion  that  gave  them 
birth.  It  is  the  popular  will  that  gives  such  marvelous  command  to 
an  American  or  British  government,  over  the  persons  and  fortunes  of 
its  citizens  in  time  of  public  crisis  or  peril;  and  because  the  popular 
will  falls  away  from  extraordinary  measures  when  the  emergency  has 
passed,  the  governmental  powers  shrink  to  their  old  proportions 
without  a  jolt. 

The  greater  part  of  the  law  that  regulates  personal  and  property 
relations  has  grown  out  of  popular  customs.  When  a  custom  has  be¬ 
come  general,  ancient,  and  unquestioned,  it  passes  into  the  body  of 
the  law.  In  this  way,  the  law  is  always  growing  and  constantly 
changing,  this  growth  and  change  enabling  the  law  and  the  people  to 
jog  along  side  by  side.  At  the  same  time,  growth  and  change  are  so 
gradual  that  they  are  not  perceived;  so  that,  on  the  surface,  the  com- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


305 


mon  law,  as  this  law  derived  from  custom  is  called,  seems  as  imper¬ 
vious  as  granite,  and  every  case  appears  to  be  decided  under  the 
same  law  that  would  have  applied  to  it  a  century  earlien  Every  now 
and  then,  some  judge  of  eminent  distinction  declares  that  to  be  part 
of  the  common  law  which  never  has  been  such;  but  the  authority  of 
the  judge,  and  the  sense  and  justice  of  the  declaration,  carry  the 
fiction  through.  The  decision  becomes  a  precedent  for  the  next  simi¬ 
lar  case,  and  so  precedent  follows  precedent,  until  nothing  but  an  act 
of  Parliament  or  Congress,  or  of  a  state  legislature,  could  repeal  or 
alter  the  *  judge-made  law.  Partly  in  this  way,  and  partly  by  giving 
clear  legal  definitions  to  the  usage  of  merchants,  the  great  Lord  Mans¬ 
field,  sitting  in  the  Court  of  King’s  Bench,  or  on  appeal,  almost  created 
the  body  of  commercial  law  now  existent  in  England  and  in  America, 
at  a  time  when  the  tide  of  English  commerce  was  rising  faster  than 
the  landed  gentry,  then  composing  the  British  Parliament,  could  pre¬ 
tend  to  deal  with  it.  The  constitutional  law  of  the  United  States  is 
largely  the  creation  of  the  illustrious  Chief-justice  Marshall.  That 
judges  should  make  law,  under  the  guise  of  applying  the  law  already 
made,  has  always  been  an  offense  in  the  eyes  of  many  legal  commen¬ 
tators;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  always  one  of  the  modes  in  which 
the  law  has  kept  pace  with  human  development.  Judges,  too,  are 
often  unconscious  that  they  are  in  effect  invading  the  field  of  legis¬ 
lation. 

The  subjection  of  women  was  affected  by  the  common  law,  and 
their  emancipation  has  been  brought  about  by  legislative  acts,  called 
statutes.  But  in  the  application  of  these  statutes  to  cases  arising  un¬ 
der  them,  the  courts  often  resort,  of  necessity,  to  common  law  prin¬ 
ciples,  so  that  it  is  never  possible  to  trace  or  to  keep  any  fixed  line 
of  division  between  common  and  statute  laws. 

The  mixed  origin  of  the  law;  its  incessant  modification;  the  nicety 
and  delicacy  of  its  application,  so  as  to  keep  it  steady  and  consistent; 
the  necessity  of  separating  it  from  those  merely  moral  precepts  to 
which  the  popular  mind  is  sure  to  run;  the  extent  to  which  it  enters 
into  all  the  relations  of  life  and  society,  and  the  impossibility  of  find¬ 
ing  a  working  substitute  for  it,  render  it  certain  that  the  conception 
of  a  happy  community,  free  of  lawyers  and  lawsuits,  must  remain  a 
baseless  dream.  So  with  the  modified  conception  of  courts  of  justice 
having  procedure  so  simple  and  expeditious  that  the  parties  can  sit 
down  to  a  five-minute  informal  talk  with  the  judge,  and  go  off  to 
lunch  together  after  receiving  his  decision.  Even  the  good  Haroun 
al  Raschid,  sitting  on  his  divan  in  the  hall  of  audience,  could  only 
occasionally  dispose  of  a  case  in  that  way.  The  mass  of  litigation  in 
his  day  followed  very  much  the  present-day  course. 

Vol.  XIII— 20 


3o6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  true  relation,  therefore,  of  unprofessional  people  toward  the 
law  under  which  they  live,  is  that  they  should  know  its  fundamental 
principles,  and  that  experts  on  the  bench  and  at  the  bar,  should  apply 
those  principles  to  particular  cases. 

The  law  operates  on  a  woman  in  one  of  four  ways  —  that  is,  it 
operates  to  protect  some  right  affecting  her  person,  or  to  constrain 
her  to  the  performance  of  some  personal  duty,  or  to  defend  her  right 
in  or  to  property,  or  to  enforce  the  right  of  some  other  to  or  in  her 
property.  Some  of  her  personal  rights  accrue  to  her  in  the  character 
of  daughter,  wife,  or  mother;  but,  like  every  other  member  of  the 
community,  she  is  entitled  to  legal  security  of  life,  limb,  liberty, 
health,  and  reputation.  Some  of  her  property  rights  accrue  to  her  in 
the  character  of  wife,  but  as  a  member  of  society  she  has  the  same 
right  to  security  of  property  as  has  any  other  member.  As  daughter 
or  wife,  there  are  legal  obligations  resting  upon  her,  and  so  there  are 
in  her  character  as  a  citizen  or  resident.  As  a  wife,  her  separate 
property  is  liable  for  her  separate  debts,  and  when  not  a  wife,  her 
creditors  or  other  claimants,  have  the  same  right  to  have  their  lawful 
demands  satisfied  out  of  her  available  property  as  in  the  case  of  any 
other  person  who  owes  them  a  debt,  or  who  has  done  them  an  inju^-y 
of  a  kind  that  can  be  measured  in  money. 

The  special  laws  made  for  women  are  not  laws  of  favoritism,  for 
equality  is  one  of  the  foundations  of  the  law,  as  reason  is  the  other. 
But  like  special  laws  made  for  other  classes,  as  minors,  lunatics,  sea¬ 
men,  or  absentees,  the  object  of  laws  expressly  designed  for  women 
is  to  lift  them  to  the  general  state  of  legal  equality,  should  they 
happen  to  fall  below  it.  Such  laws,  therefore,  when  made,  become 
at  once  a  part  of  the  body  of  the  general  law.  The  theory  that  all 
are  alike  before  the  law  does  not,  because  of  faults  and  defects  in 
human  character,  always  work  out  in  practice,  but  the  principle  is 
always  present  in  every  case,  and,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  really 
operates.  When  slavery  had  a  legal  existence  in  the  United  States, 
slaves  were  not  the  legal  equals  of  freemen,  for  if  they  had  been, 
they  could  not  have  been  slaves. 

Legal  equality  found  its  earliest,  and  has  reached  its  fullest, 
development  in  the  United  States;  but  in  all  countries  having  con¬ 
stitutional  forms  of  government  the  tendency  is  toward  the  like 
degree  of  equality.  In  Great  Britain,  there  are  still  legally  privileged 
classes,  but  they  are  mere  historical  '  survivals,  and  do  not  practically 
trench  upon  the  principle  of  equality.  Even  when  class  privilege 
was  a  real  thing,  the  sturdy  doctrine  prevailed  that  every  man  was 
to  be  tried  by  his  peers,  whether  baron,  ecclesiastic,  or  commoner, 
and  this  is  the  very  essence  of  equality.  The  British  sovereign  is 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  307 

not  under  the  law,  because  in  legal  theory  the  sovereign  is  the  source 
of  all  law  and  cannot  try  himself  or  herself,  or  decide  his  or  her  own 
cause.  But  an  order,  command  or  decree,  issued  by  the  sovereign, 
and  not  countersigned  by  a  minister  who  is  under  the  law,  is  waste 
paper  without  value  except  to  collectors  of  autographs. 

King  James  L,  a  shrewd  and  scholarly,  though  a  slovenly,  man, 
finding  that  the  Court  of  King’s  Bench  was  the  king’s  own  particular 
court,  strolled  into  Westminster  Hall  one  day  and  seated  himself  on 
the  bench.  He  was  received  with  proper  respect,  after  which,  desir¬ 
ing  that  the  business  move,  he  was  informed  that  business  could  not 
be  done  in  so  august  a  presence.  Having  a  strong  desire  to  get  a 
hold  on  the  judicial  power  of  the  kingdom,  an  end  to  which  he  was 
urged  on  by  some  of  the  handsome  but  worthless  favorites  who  con¬ 
stantly  surrounded  him,  he  sought  to  brave  it  out;  but  the  stony  and 
deferential  silence  of  bench,  bar,  and  spectators,  was  too  much  for  him, 
and  he  beat  an  ignoble  retreat.  He  was  certainly  within  his  rights,  but 
being  himself  outside  the  law,  he  had  no  legal  means  of  vindicating 
his  rights.  His  son.  King  Charles  I.,  was  compelled  to  sign  the  death 
warrant  of  his  great  minister,  the  Earl  of  Stafford,  convicted  in  the 
king’s  name  of  high  treason,  for  acts  performed  by  the  king’s  author¬ 
ity  and  command.  Later,  the  same  king,  under  his  family  name  of 
Charles  Stuart,  was  convicted  of  high  treason  against  himself,  and 
suffered  the  legal  penalty  of  decapitation.  From  those  days,  at  least, 
the  law  has  reigned,  if  the  monarch  has  worn  the  crown.  But  to 
work  the  law  in  those  ways,  and  in  the  many  other  and  commoner 
ways  in  which  it  is  now  worked  every  day  for  the  vindication  of 
equality  and  the  enforcement  of  justice,  requires  a  preparation  more 
deep  than  could  be  gained  from  any  book  purporting  to  make  every 
man  his  own  lawyer.  The  most  illustrious  example  of  an  untrained 
man  acting  as  his  own  lawyer  is  that  of  King  George  III.,  one  of 
the  best  kings,  and  one  of  the  best  men  in  high  place,  whereof 
history  bears  record,  and  whose  early  character  is  admirably  sketched 
by  Sir  Walter  Besant  in  the  charming  romance  entitled  Fountain 
Sealed  King  George  was  his  own  constitutional  lawyer,  and  if  his 
intellect  had  only  equaled  his  conscientiousness,  at  the  time  he  tried 
to  solve  the  problem  of  how  the  apple  got  into  the  apple  dumpling 
served  to  him  one  day  for  dessert,  the  world  might  have  gone  much 
better  ever  since.  But  his  conscientiousness  on  nice  points  of  law 
which  he  was  not  qualified  to  decide,  lost  Britain  her  American  colo¬ 
nies;  gave  those  colonies  a  bias  toward  violence  from  which  they  have 
never  fully  recovered;  made  an  only  occasionally-bridged  gulf  between 
the  motherland  and  her  children ;  planted  still  fruitful  seeds  of  hatred 
between  Britain  and  Ireland,  whose  mutual  friendship  is  necessary  to 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


30S 

the  happiness  of  both;  and,  till  the  time  that  he  was  made  harmless 
by  insanity,  brought  England  to  her  lowest  ebb,  and  saddled  upon  the 
British  people  a  staggering  national  debt.  True,  his  conclusions  were 
often  embodied  in  acts  of  Parliament,  but  that  legislature  was  then 
controlled  by  the  influence  of  the  Crown.  That  was  why  Jefferson,  a 
highly  accomplished  lawyer,  made  King  George  personally  responsible 
for  all  the  grievances  set  out  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


WOMAN  UNDER  THE  LAW 


Human  Nature  under  the  Law — The  Law  of  Husband  and  Wife  —  Husbands 
May  not  Entail  Unnecessary  Hardship  on  Wives  —  The  Necessities  and 
Luxuries  of  Every-day  Life  —  The  Law  of  Divorce  —  What  Constitutes 
Marriage  —  A  Wife’s  Control  of  Her  Individual  Property  —  Marriage 
Laws  among  the  Latins  —  Course  of  Instruction  at  Business  College  Ad¬ 
vised —  Business  Suggestions  for  Women. 

From  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  the  law  lays  its  hand  upon,  and  some¬ 
times  puts  its  shield  over.  Woman,  in  her  several  characters  of 
daughter,  sister,  spinster,  wife,  mother,  and  widow. 

As  a  daughter,  the  woman  is  legally  under  parental  control  and 
discipline  during  her  minority;  her  father  is  legally  entitled  to  exact 
from  her  any  service  reasonable  in  nature  and  extent;  her  earning 
capacity  and  her  actual  earnings  are  the  property  of  the  father;  he 
has  the  first  claim  to  guardianship  of  her  independent  property,  un¬ 
less  donors  or  courts  otherwise  order;  in  her  defense  or  protection  he 
may  lawfully  do  all  that  she  might  do,  if  of  full  age  and  unmarried; 
generally,  though  not  universally,  he  is  bound  to  support  her  during 
infancy,  conformably  to  his  means  and  circumstances;  and,  where  ed¬ 
ucation  is  compulsory  by  law,  he  is  bound,  under  penalty,  at  least  to 
send  her  to  the  free  public  school  for  the  minimum  period  in  each 
year,  and  up  to  the  least  age  permitted  for  withdrawal. 

As  a  sister,  her  legal  relations  are  very  few,  consisting  mainly  in 
being  an  heir  to  brothers  and  sisters  who  die  intestate  and  without 
children,  and  in  their  being  heirs  to  her  under  like  circumstances. 
But  though,  in  most  concerns,  she  is  legally  no  more  to  a  brother  or 
sister  than  is  a  stranger,  it  is  impossible  to  get  judges  or  juries,  when 
their  conscience  or  sympathy  is  touched,  to  ignore  the  Kuman  ties  of 
common  parentage,  if  there  is  any  possible  flexibility  in  the  application 
of  the  law  to  the  facts  of  a  case.  Everybody  knows  that  there  are 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


309 


some  verdicts  that  no  jury  will  render,  because  human  nature  is 
stronger  than  the  law;  and  so  there  are  judges  who,  without  directly 
breaking  the  law,  will  eonduct  it  to  a  rational  conclusion,  agreeable 
to  the  common  feelings  of  mankind.  Thus,  there  may  be  said  to  be 
an  unwritten  law  of  brothers  and  sisters,  the  particulars  of  which  no 
man  knoweth,  but  the  principles  of  which  are  latent  in  the  human 
breast,  whence  they  spring  to  life  and  aetion  when  some  strong  ocea- 
sion  calls  forth  the  cry:  We  cannot  deal  with  this  woman  as  a  stran¬ 
ger  to  the  son  of  her  own  father  and  mother.  And  as  with  brother 
and  sister,  so  with  sister  and  sister,  under  the  like  conditions.  The 
general  law,  being  made  for  all,  under  all  conditions,  must  sometimes, 
bear  hardly  in  cases  that  the  wisdom  of  the  lawgiver  could  not  have 
foreseen;  and  when  the  weight  of  its  severity  becomes  intolerable  to 
the  common  sentiment  of  humanity,  it  is  the  law,  and  not  humanity, 
that  gives  way.  This  is  the  safety-valve  that  assures  the  continuous 
power  and  achievement  of  the  law. 

As  a  spinster,  which  is  the  legal  term  for  an  adult  unmarried 
woman,  a  woman  is  legally,  in  her  civic  relations,  in  the  position  of 
an  adult  unwedded  man,  though,  in  general,  she  is  inferior  to  him  in 
her  politieal  relations.  Wherefore,  since  politics  form  no  part  of  the 
present  matter,  nothing  more  needs  to  be  said  of  women  as  spinsters. 

In  her  character  as  wife,  woman  is  the  junior  member  in  a  part¬ 
nership  the  most  important  in  the  world,  and  the  relations  of  which 
constitute  the  greatest  topic  of  the  civic  law.  Baron  and  Femme  is 
the  ancient  title  of  this  branch  of  the  law;  the  modern  title  is  Hus¬ 
band  and  Wife,  and  the  change  is  far  more  than  one  of  words  and 
phrases.  In  the  days  when  the  man  was  a  Baron^  he  was  not  only 
the  predominant  partner,  but  practically  the  whole  firm.  Some  touch 
of  religious  veneration,  some  recognition  of  the  illogical  position  into 
which  the  law  would  fall  by  entirely  and  always  ignoring  a  separate 
existence  of  the  wife,  for  any  purpose,  probably  saved  the  name 
Femme  to  the  title  dealing  with  the  marriage  relation.  At  all  events, 
the  name  was  saved,  as  evidence  that  if  two  were  generally  one,  the 
one  was  occasionally  two;  and  now,  instead  of  lying  at  the  feet  of  the 
husband  in  a  legal  sense,  the  wife  stands  erect  by  his  side,  and,  on 
the  whole,  the  world  is  better  for  the  change.  As  the  law  of  hus¬ 
band  and  wife  is  of  vast  importance,  so  is  the  literature  of  that  law 
vast,  and  only  a  mere  suggestion  of  what  the  marriage  relation  im¬ 
ports  can  here  and  there  be  given. 

As  a  mother,  the  law  touches  woman  very  lightly;  but  the  omission 
is  abundantly  supplied  by  the  operation  of  natural  affection  between 
mother  and  child.  Even  in  its  narrow  sphere,  the  law  is  only  excep¬ 
tionally  called  upon  to  interfere  with  perversity  in  nature.  During 


310 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


minority,  the  child  belongs  to  the  father,  and  after  minority,  to  itself, 
leaving  but  small  room  for  a  legal  position  for  the  mother.  Yet  she 
has  some  rights  and  some  duties,  to  be  considered  in  their  proper 
nlace. 

A  widow  goes  back  to  the  legal  condition  of  an  adult  unmarried 
woman  in  relation  to  her  own  affairs,  and,  in  addition,  has  certain 
rights  in,  and  concerning,  the  deceased  husband’s  property,  and 
some  privileges  respecting  the  custody  and  care  of  young  children  left 
fatherless. 

Thus,  in  a  rapid  way,  has  been  indicated  the  manner  wherein  the 
law  concerns  itself  with  a  woman  as  a  woman,  from  birth  to  death, 
through  all  the  successive  or  intervening  stages  of  her  life. 

Wives  and  mothers  have  certain  legal  rights,  and  are  charged  with 
certain  legal  duties.  A  wife  is  entitled  to  support  by  her  husband, 
in  all  respects  in  a  manner  suited  to  his  social  position  and  his 
means,  and  if  he  does  not  suitably  provide  for  her,  she  has  the  right 
to  obtain  whatever  she  reasonably  needs,  wherever  she  can,  at  his 
expense.  He  cannot  escape  his  liability  by  advertising  that  he  will 
not  be  responsible  for  debts  contracted  by  her;  but  whether  he 
advertises  or  not,  whoever  supplies  a  wife,  with  expectation  of  being 
paid  by  the  husband,  must  be  satisfied,  either  that  she  has  authority 
from  the  husband,  or  that  he  is  neglecting  his  duty  to  suitably  pro¬ 
vide  for  her.  For  the  husband  who,  in  any  manner,  performs  his 
legal  duty  of  suitably  supporting ,  his  wife,  cannot  be  held  liable  for 
debts  contracted  by  her  for  alleged  necessaries  that  he  has  already 
provided  for  or  furnished.  When  a  husband  and  wife  are  living 
together,  she  is  his  lawful  agent  for  procuring  ordinary  supplies  and 
services  for  the  household  and  family,  and  if  he  wishes  to  deprive  her 
of  this  authority,  he  must  notify  the  tradesmen  who  have  been 
accustomed  to  receive  her  as  his  agent,  and  must  use  reasonable 
diligence  in  ascertaining  the  persons  to  be  notified. 

It  is  the  legal  duty  of  a  wife  to  live  with  her  husband,  giving  him 
her  presence,  society,  services,  and  all  reasonable  assistance  in  house¬ 
hold  and  family  affairs.  But  the  law  does  not  require  her  to  live 
with  him  if  he  fails  or  refuses  to  supply  her  with  such  a  home  as  his 
position  and  means  would  readily  afford;  nor  in  or  at  a  place  where 
her  life  or  health  is  unreasonably  endangered;  nor  if  he  treats  her 
with  physical  cruelty,  habitual  neglect,  aversion,  or  insult.  For  a  wife 
is  legally  entitled  to  the  society,  services,  affection,  and  respect,  of  the 
husband,  and  to  such  physical  comforts  of  living  as  he  can  reasonably 
supply.  The  law  does  not  require  her  to  live  in  unnecessary  hard¬ 
ship,  misery,  danger,  or  fear. 

In  this  or  in  any  other  statement  of  the  legal  relations  of  persons 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


311 

or  things,  intended  for  people  not  learned  in  the  law,  the  terms 
reasonable  and  reasonably  are  likely  to  be  used  with  great 
frequency.  The  cause  of  this  is  that  the  law,  in  theory,  is  the  per¬ 
fection  of  common  sense,  however  it  may  be  marred  in  operation  by 
the  defects  of  human  nature.  The  voice  of  the  law  continually 
speaks  for  what  is  reasonable  under  the  special  circumstances  of  a 
particular  case.  For  example,  a  tradesman  might  legally  make  a  rich 
man  pay  for  diamond  jewelry  supplied  to  the  wife;  but  the  poor  man 
could  not  be  compelled  to  pay,  against  his  own  consent,  for  so  much 
as  a  modest  breastpin.  To  a  rich  man’s  wife,  legally  entitled  to  live 
as  rich  ordinarily  do,  diamonds  may  be  a  necessary  of  life  which 
the  husband  is  legally  bound  to  provide;  but  neither  the  habits  nor 
the  means  of  the  poor  enable  them  to  regard  jewelry  otherwise  than 
as  a  luxury,  and  no  husband  is  legally  bound  to  provide  his  wife  with 
luxuries.  Carry  the  principle  of  this  example  into  all  the  relations 
of  life,  and  the  law  ceases  to  be  mysterious,  or  complex.  In  the 
common  affairs  of  life,  people  often  worry  over  what  is  or  what  is  not 
legal  in  relation  to  a  certain  matter,  or  over  the  manner  in  which 
something  desired  to  be  done  may  be  legally  performed.  In  the  vast 
majority  of  such  cases,  a  practically  safe  and  serviceable  guess  could 
be  made  by  considering  what  common  sense  would  decide  after 
hearing  all  the  facts  of  the  case.  This  remark  is  intended  to  apply  to 
all  that  may  be  said  herein  concerning  the  legal  relations  of  women. 

A  wife  living  apart  from  her  husband  by  express  agreement,  or 
through  his  tacit  consent,  or  because  his  conduct  forces,  or  warrants, 
her  to  separate  from  him,  is  entitled  to  be  supported  by  him,  or  to 
arrange  for  her  own  support  at  his  expense,  unless  she  has  agreed  to 
release  him  from  the  obligation.  But  her  conduct  must  be  exemplary 
during  the  time  that  she  holds  him  to  the  duty  of  supporting  her. 

When  a  husband  and  wife  are  living  apart,  without  legal  fault  on 
her  side,  the  wife  is  entitled  to  the  custody  of  children  so  young  as  par¬ 
ticularly  to  require  her  maternal  care,  and  to  reasonable  -  access  to  chil¬ 
dren  old  enough  to  be  retained  by  the  father.  It  would  be  a  violation  of 
her  legal  rights  for  the  husband  to  excite  their  children  to  hatred  or 
contempt  of  her.  The  law  looks  upon  the  married  state  as  the  very 
foundation,  in  a  wordly  sense,  of  the  happiness,  prosperity,  and  sta¬ 
bility  of  a  community  or  nation,  for  which  reason  it  takes  extraordi¬ 
nary  care  to  prevent  a  rupture  of  marital  relations  from  within,  or 
disturbance  of  them  from  without;  judges  almost  universally  admin¬ 
ister  the  law  of  husband  and  wife  with  special  care  and  fidelity. 

The  law  of  divorce  varies  in  details  in  the  several  states,  but  it 
is  everywhere  founded  upon  the  principle  that  when  the  object  of 
marriage  is  hopelessly  defeated  in  a  particular  case,  it  is  best  to  free 


312 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


the  innocent  party  from  the  wreck,  with  legal  opportunity  and  priv¬ 
ilege  to  make  another  adventure.  Where  the  wife  is  the  innocent  party, 
her  legal  right  to  support  remains,  and  is  regulated  by  the  divorce 
court,  and  she  has  the  right  to  the  custody  of  young  children,  whose 
support  is  a  charge  upon  the  father.  If  she  remarries,  the  new  hus¬ 
band  relieves  the  former  one  of  the  legal  duty  of  her  support. 

A  limited  divorce  is  another  name  for  a  legal  separation  decreed 
by  a  court,  but  in  common  speech,  a  divorce  means  a  dissolution  of 
the  marriage  itself.  In  either  case,  the  property  rights  of  the  severed 
couple  are  adjustable  by  the  court,  to  fit  the  new  circumstances  of 
the  parties.  If  a  separation  be  all  that  is  needed  or  desired,  the  hus¬ 
band  and  wife  may  make  their  own  arrangement,  if  they  can  agree 
without  going  to  court. 

The  law,  in  some  states  and  in  some  cases,  forbids  the  remarriage 
of  the  offending  party.  Yet  the  forbidden  party  may  make  a  legal 
remarriage  elsewhere,  which  will  be  recognized  throughout  the  United 
States,  except  that  the  prohibition  may  be  enforced  in  the  state  where 
it  originated,  as  to  property  or  property  rights  within  the  control  of 
the  law  of  that  state.  A  national  law  of  marriage  and  divorce  is  a 
crying  necessity,  but  is  an  impossibility  under  present  circumstances. 

In  law,  marriage  has  nothing  to  do  with  religion,  so  that  when¬ 
ever,  religious  ceremonies  or  observances  attend  a  marriage,  the  im¬ 
portant  thing,  with  regard  to  the  future,  is  that  the  legal  requirements 
of  the  place  where  the  marriage  occurs  should  'be  followed.  In  gen¬ 
eral,  the  intention  of  both  parties 'to  be  married  to  one  another,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  open  living  together  as  husband  and  wife,  will,  in  course  of 
time,  and  for  most  purposes,  cure  informalities  in  the  original  pro¬ 
ceedings,  by  raising  a  legal  presumption  that  somewhere,  at  some  time, 
the  parties  became  lawfully  married.  For  marriage  is  not  made  by 
any  ceremony  or  formality,  but  by  the  living  of  the  couple  together 
as  husband  and  wife.  The  true  object  of  a  marriage  law  is  to  com¬ 
pel  the  parties  to  take  such  a  course  as  will  produce  an  authentic, 
legal  record  of  the  marriage,  for  future  use  whenever  needed.  This 
may  be  a  certificate  by  the  officiating  clergyman  or  magistrate,  de¬ 
livered  to  the  wife ;  or  an  entr)"  in  church  records,  or  among  the  pub¬ 
lic  archives. 

A  wife  who  has  reason  to  fear  that,  at  some  future  time,  the  fact 
of  her  marriage  may  become  the  subject  of  serious  denial  or  doubt, 
should  take  immediate  measures  to  avert  the  possibility  of  such  a 
danger.  If  she  has  her  own  marriage  certificate,  but  is  uncertain  that 
there  is  also  an  official  record  of  the  marriage,  she  can  guard  against 
the  consequences  of  loss  or  destruction  of  the  certificate,  by  getting 
a  careful  and  intelligent  notary  public  properly  to  attest  a  copy,  or 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


3^3 


even  two  copies,  of  the  certificate,  and  placing  the  copy  or  copies 
where  there  is  a  reasonable  assurance  of  preservation,  if  the  original 
should  be  lost  or  destroyed.  At  every  county  seat,  there  is  a  public 
office  for  recording  deeds  of  land,  and  usually  the  officer  in  charge 
will  record  and  index  any  document  which  the  holder  desires  to  have 
recorded  as  a  precaution  against  loss  of  its  contents.  If  the  anxious 
wife  has  no  certificate  to  be  copied  or  recorded,  and  her  husband 
sympathizes  with  her  fears,  they  can  make  a  joint  written  declaration 
of  the  facts  of  their  marriage  and  cohabitation,  and  have  that  re¬ 
corded  among  the  land  records.  Speaking  generally,  however,  there 
is  seldom  any  great  difficulty  in  proving  that  a  real  husband  and  wife 
are  a  married  couple. 

Speaking  generally,  again,  the  rights  of  a  married  woman  concern¬ 
ing  her  own  property  are  now  as  great  as  the  rights  of  a  single 
woman.  But  to  avoid  trouble  with  her  husband’s  creditors,  in  case 
he  should  become  insolvent,  she  should,  by  writings  carefully  preserved, 
and  by  the  knowledge  of  eyewitnesses,  be  able,  at  any  time  of  busi¬ 
ness  calamity  to  him,  to  show  that  what  she  claims  as  her  property 
is  really  her  own.  A  husband  able  to  pay  his  debts  may  lawfully 
make  gifts  to  his  wife,  without  their  subsequently  becoming  subject 
to  the  demands  of  his  creditors;  but  he  may  not  pretend  to  make  his 
own  property  the  property  of  his  wife,  for  the  purpose  of  defrauding 
his  creditors. 

Sometimes  the  property  of  a  wife,  not  derived  from  the  husband, 
has  been  used  or  consumed  by  him,  in  his  own  affairs,  without  her 
knowledge  or  consent.  In  this  case,  the  proper  court  will  decree  res- 
,  titution  of  the  value  to  her  from  his  property,  but  not  to  the  injury 
of  any  creditor  who,  upon  the  particular  facts  of  the  case,  has  a  just 
claim  to  be  first  satisfied. 

In  general,  a  married  woman  may  now  carry  on  business  for  her¬ 
self,  in  her  own  name,  for  her  own  profit.  But  this  right  does  not 
impair  the  right  of  the  husband  to  her  society  and  services  as  a  wife, 
for  good  wives  and  mothers  are  needed  by  the  community  and  the 
nation  more  than  are  good  women  of  business.  The  majority  of 
women  must  still  look  to  domestic  life  as  the  sphere  of  their  useful¬ 
ness  and  happiness.  What  the  law  has  recently  done  for  married 
women  is  to  give  them  legal  opportunities  for  self-dependence  and 
self-help,  in  cases  where  marriage  has  failed  suitably  to  provide  for 
them;  and  also  in  cases  where,  without  injury  to  the  family  interests, 
their  industry  and  talent  may  enlarge  the  family  means  and  increase 
the  general  welfare.  The  husband  is  still  lord  of  the  household  in 
law,  but  the  law  has  opened  a  way  to  a  wife,  who  is  able  and  willing 
to  do  something  for  herself  or  for  her  children  —  in  order  to  provide 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


314 

against  the  misconduct,  folly,  incapacity,  or  misfortune  of  the  husband 
• —  to  make  the  attempt  in  legal  security.  In  short,  while  the  husband 
and  wife,  for  the  beneficial  purposes  of  their  union,  remain  one,  they 
have  become  two  in  matters  not  necessary  to  the  success  of  that 
union,  and  in  cases  in  which  to  be  only  one  might  cause  or  increase 
mischief  to  the  wife,  to  the  family,  or  to  the  state. 

A  wife  surviving  her  husband  is  legally  entitled  to  the  use  or 
benefit  of  not  less  than  one-third  of  his  real  estate  for  her  life,  and, 
in  general,  to  not  less  than  one-third-  of  his  personal  property  ab¬ 
solutely.  In  some  of  the  states,  she  shares  equally  with  the  children 
in  the  personal  property.  Should  the  husband  leave  a  will  giving 
her  less  than  the  law  allows,  she  can  renounce  the  will  and  take  her 
legal  share.  In  the  unusual  case  of  a  failure  of  any  heir  of  the  blood 
of  the  husband,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  will,  she  may  take  the  whole 
estate.  Where  there  is  no  will,  she  is  entitled  to  administer  the 
estate  under  direction  of  the  proper  court,  and  if  she  does  not  choose 
to  administer  in  person,  she  has  the  right  of  presenting  to  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  court  the  person  whom  she  prefers  as  administrator. 

The  husband  being  the  legal  head  of  the  family,  a  wife’s  legal 
rights  and  duties  concerning  the  children  are  not  numerous.  The 
modern  tendency  of  the  law,  however  is  to  bring  her  toward  an 
equality  with  the  husband  in  matters  affecting  their  children.  If  the 
father’s  conduct  to,  or  management  of,  the  children  is  deemed  by  her 
materially  injurious  to  them,  she  can  apply  to  court  for  a  remedy. 
She  is  not  bound  to  support  the  children  and,  in  general,  they  are  not 
bound  to  support  her.  But  in  all  circumstances,  except  that  of  her 
own  misconduct,  she  is  entitled  to  the  personal  care  and  supervision 
of  such  children  as  are  too  young  to  be  reasonably  separated  from 
their  mother.  ’  In  general,  too,  when  she  becomes  a  widow,  she  is 
entitled  to  be  the  guardian  of  the  persons  of  the  children  under  age, 
whomsoever  else  may  be  the  guardian  of  their  property  rights. 

It  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  the  important  working  rela¬ 
tions  of  husband  and  wife  must  rest  upon  mutual  affection,  the  golden 
rule  of  life,  and  fidelity  to  the  principles  of  morality.  Careful  and 
anxious  as  the  law  is  to  strengthen  and  safeguard  the  marriage  tie, 
the  best  it  can  do  is  to  provide,  in  a  comparatively  rough  and  inef¬ 
fective  way,  against  the  grosser  forms  of  abuse  of  the  marital 
obligations. 

Among  the  Latin  nations,  marriage  is  regulated  by  the  law  of 
community^ — that  is,  husband  and  wife  each  retains  what  he  and  she 
possessed  at  the  time  of  marriage,  and  are  joint  and  equal  owners  of 
all  property  acquired  during  the  marriage.  Such  a  law  necessarily 
le9.ds  a  wife  into  a  considerable  familiarity  with  business  affairs,  and 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


315 


American  visitors  to  France  and  other  Latin  countries  are  often 
impressed  by  the  extent  to  which  women  participate  in  the  business 
of  their  husbands  and  by  the  success  of  widows  in  carrying  on  a 
business  that  in  England  or  the  United  States  would  be  broken  up 
by  the  husband’s  death. 

In  England  and  in  the  United  States,  until  quite  recent  times,  the 
marriage  laws  so  completely  merged  the  wife  and  her  affairs  in 
the  person  and  property  of  her  husband,  that  she  had  no 
inducement,  and  but  scant  opportunity,  to  become  apt  at  business. 
But  the  effect  of  the  present  self-dependence  of  women  in  general, 
and  the  laws  relating  to  the  property  rights  of  married  women,  is 
already  marked.  A  woman  of  business  is  now  no  more  of  a  curiosity 
than  is  a  man  of  business,  and  the  old  notion  that  a  woman  could 
not  be  domestic  or  womanly,  if  she  had  interests  or  talents  beyond 
the  household  or  the  social  circle,  is  dying  out.  So  far,  however,  the 
majority  of  American  women  belong  to  the  class  ^  that  has  but  little 
theoretical  or  practical  knowledge  of  business. 

The  legal  and  business  incapacities  of  women  for  the  acquirement 
of  money  would  have  made  them  the  weaker  sex,  had  there  been  no 
other  grounds  for  their  weakness,  in  comparison  with  men.  Now, 
their  legal  incapacities  are  gone  and  the  capacities  of  business  are 
open  to  them.  They  are  free  to  acquire,  to  employ,  and  to  increase, 
money,  if  they  can.  But  they  must  learn  how  to  get,  how  to  keep, 
and  how  to  use,  money,  before  they  can  exercise  its  power.  In  other 
words,  they  must  have  knowledge  and  method,  or  they  can  neither 
get,  nor  keep,  nor  use,  the  thing  desired. 

A  very  good  preparation  for  a  woman  who  would  engage  in 
business  is  a  course  of  instruction  at  a  business  college  or  academy. 
Such  a  course  can  be  taken,  even  by  an  adult  woman,  without  much 
inconvenience,  expense  or  consumption  of  time.  Every  large  town 
has  at  least  one  such  college,  usually  with  day  and  night  sessions, 
and  always  with  enough  adult  pupils  to  prevent  any  grown  person 
from  feeling  out  of  place.  Business  law  is  a  part  of  the  course,  and 
if  afterward  supplemented  by  careful  reading  in  some  good  manual 
of  the  laws  of  business,  it  will  afford  to  a  business  woman  as  much 
knowledge  of  business  law  as  she  can  profitably  use. 

Ignorance  of  business  laws  and  of  business  methods  makes  women 
great  seekers  after  advice.  This  is  natural,  and  to  the  world’s  credit 
be  it  said  that  there  is  courtesy  and  good  feeling  enough  to  make 
such  application  agreeable  to  both  sides.  Lawyers  are  greatly  given 
to  consulting  one  another,  and  in  so  doing  they  have  three  practical 
rules  that  inexperienced  women  should  try  to  adapt  to  their  own  situ¬ 
ation,  First,  it  is  understood  9n  both  sides,  that  an  opinion  given 


3i6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


off-hand  is  never  to  be  made  the  basis  of  serious  action.  Secondly,  if 
the  consulter  means  to  act  seriously  on  the  advice  he  seeks,  he  always 
goes  to  a  brother  lawyer,  whom  he  knows  to  be  well  qualified  to  ad¬ 
vise  him  on  the  particular  matter.  Thirdly,  if  the  matter  is  really 
important,  and  the  advice  desired  is  to  be  taken  very  seriously,  the 
consulter  tries  to  work  at  least  a  small  consultation  fee  into  the  case, 
even  when  he  knows  that  he  is  welcome  to  all  the  information  that 
his  brother  in  the  law  can  give  him.  This  third  rule  would  seldom 
apply  to  an  ordinary  case  of  a  woman  seeking  friendly  advice,  but  the 
two  others  should  never  be  disregarded. 

In  their  legal  character,  women  have  already  been  classified  as 
daughters,  sisters,  spinsters,  wives,  mothers,  and  widows.  The  same 
classification  can  now  be  used  for  a  few  business  suggestions. 

Daughter. —  As  a  minor,  let  the  mother  consider  possible  invest¬ 
ments  for  her  future  benefit,  such  as  a  moderate  insurance  on  the  life 
of  father,  mother,  or  older  brother;  or  a  villa  site  in  a  promising 
suburb  that  will  cost  little  for  taxes,  and  that  may  become  city  lots 
by  the  time  she  has  grown  and  can  profitably  use  the  value  of  it. 
Or,  a  modest  but  regular  weekly  or  monthly  deposit  in  a  savings  bank 
is  advisable,  with  the  interest  added  to  the  principal  and  the  whole 
allowed  to  accumulate.  As  she  becomes  old  enough,  a  business  edu¬ 
cation  or  training  would  aid  in  making  her  independent.  As  an  adult, 
the  daughter  should  think  upon  little  investments  to  provide  for  the 
old  age  of  her  parents,  or  for  the  aid  of  younger  brothers  or  sisters  until 
they  become  self-supporting,  or  possible  contributions  by  her  to  the 
family  income.  If  she  has  been  brought  up  to  business,  she  will  have 
less  vanity  and  love  of  dress,  and  less  eagerness  for  marriage  as  a 
means  of  support. 

Sister. —  As  a  minor,  income-earning  brothers  and  sisters,  or  well- 
married  sisters,  may  do  for  her  the  things  indicated  above,  and  which 
the  parents  may  be  unable  to  do.  As  an  adult,  if  self-supporting,  and 
something  over,  she  may  help  to  prepare  younger  brothers  or  sisters 
for  self-support;  may  look  after  their  business  or  property  interests, 
and  help  them  to  first  employments. 

Spinster. —  If  a  daughter  or  sister,  then,  being  an  adult,  her  possi¬ 
ble  aids  to  the  family  have  already  been  indicated.  As  to  herself, 
being  self-supporting  and  accumulative,  she  can  marry  or  not,  as  affec¬ 
tion  or  interest  dictates,  and  if  married  unfortunately,  she  can  again 
look  out  for  herself. 

Wife. —  If  trained  in  business,  she  may  help  her  husband,  or  per¬ 
haps  make  separate  accumulations  for  herself,  or  to  aid  him  or  the 
children.  If  expert  at  business,  she  can  afford  to  employ  domestic 
help  to  do  the  details  of  household-work  under  her  oversight.  She  can 


i 


BUSINESS  ANE  commerce  317 

use  business  habits  in  household  management,  and  so  earn  largely  by 
saving  largely. 

Mother, —  In  this  character  she  may  look  out  for  the  future  of  the 
children,  investing,  or  causing  the  father  to  invest,  for  their  benefit, 
or  for  any  needing  special  provision  because  of  constitutional  weak¬ 
ness  or  other  defect.  She  may  help  to  provide  against  disaster  to  the 
family  from  the  death  or  misfortune  of  the  husband.  By  incidental 
conversation  in  the  family  circle,  she  may  give  to  the  children  a  bias 
toward  business,  and  make  them  familiar  with  fundamental  business 
principles. 

Widow. —  Herein,  she  may  take  the  deceased  husband’s  place,  con¬ 
serving  his  business  or  estate;  looking  after  her  own  interests  and 
those  of  her  children.  If  his  affairs  can  be  settled  without  legal  pro¬ 
ceedings,  she  may  settle  them,  or  if  by  reason  of  a  will,  or  doubtful 
debts  or  claims,  or  other  cause,  legal  proceedings  are  necessary,  she 
can  go  personally  to  the  probate  court,  and  need  not  call  in  a  lawyer 
until  one  be  necessary. 


WORDS  AND  PHRASES  OF  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES 


A 

A,  a  (/V.),  according  to ;  after  the  manner  of ;  to. 
A  bas  {Fr.')^  down  with. 

Ab  extra  {Lat.),  from  without. 

Ab  initio  (Za4),  from  the  beginning. 

A  bon  marcbe  (Fr.),  cheap. 

Ab  origine  {Lat.),  from  the  beginning. 

Absents  reo  {Lat.),  the  defendant  being  absent. 
Absque  hoc  (Za/.),  without  this. 

Ad  astra  {Lat.).,  to  the  stars. 

Ad  astra  per  aspera  {Lat.),  To  the  stars  through 
difficulties  —  the  motto  of  Kansas. 

Ad  Calendas  Grsecas  {Lat.),  at  the  Greek  Ka¬ 
lends  ;  never,  as  the  Greeks  had  no  Kalends. 
Ad  eundem  {Lat.),  to  the  same  degree. 

Ad  extremum  {Lat.),  to  the  extreme ;  at  last. 
Ad  finem  {Lat.),  to  the  end. 

A  die  {Lat.),  from  that  day. 


Ad  infinitum  {Lat.),  to  infinity. 

Ad  inquirendum  {Lat.),  for  inquiry ;  a  writ  au¬ 
thorizing  inquiry  to  be  made. 

Ad  interim  {Lat.),  in  the  meantime. 

Ad  libitum  {Lat.),  at  pleasure. 

Ad  nauseam  {Lat.),  so  as  to  disgust. 

Ad  rem  {Lat.),  to  the  point ;  to  the  purpose. 

Ad  summum  {Lat.),  to  the  highest  point  or  de¬ 
gree. 

Ad  utrumque  paratus  {Lat.),  prepared  for 
either  event. 

Ad  valorem  {Lat.),  according  to  value. 

Affaire  d’amour  {Fr.),  a  love  affair. 

Affaire  d’bonneur  {Fr.),  an  affair  of  honor;  a 
duel. 

Affaire  du  cceur  {Fr.),  an  affair  of  the  heart; 
a  love  affair. 

A  fin  {Fr.),  to  the  end. 

A  fin  de  {Fr.),  to  the  end  that ;  in  order  that. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


318 

A  fond  {Fr.),  to  the  bottom  ;  thoroughly. 

A  fortiori  {Lat.),  with  greater  reason. 

A  gauche  {Fr.),  to  the  left. 

Agnus  Dei  {Lat.),  Lamb  of  God. 

A  haute  voix  {Fr.),  in  a  loud  voice. 

Aide-toi,  et  le  Ciel  t’aidera  {Fr.),  Help  your¬ 
self  and  heaven  will  help  you. 

A  la  bonne  heure  {Fr.),  early. 

A  la  campagne  {Fr.),  in  the  country. 

A  la  frangaise  {Fr.),  after  the  manner  of  the 
French. 

A  la  mode  {Fr.),  in  fashion ;  according  to  the 
custom. 

A1  fresco  {It.),  to  the  shade  ;  to  the  open  air. 
Alias  {Lat.),  at  another  time  or  place;  else¬ 
where  ;  otherwise. 

Alibi  {Lat.),  elsewhere. 

Alis  volat  propriis  {Lat.),  She  flies  with  her 
own  wings — motto  of  Oregon. 

Allons  {Fr.),  let  us  go  ;  come. 

Alma  mater  {Lat.),  a  kindly  mother.  Used  of 
the  college  or  university  from  which  one  is 
graduated. 

A1  piu  {It.),  at  the  most. 

Alter  ego  {Lat.),  another  self ;  a  double. 

Alter  idem  {Lat.),  another  exactly  similar. 
Amende  honorable  {Fr.),  satisfactory  apology. 
Amour  propre  {Fr.),  self-love  ;  vanity. 

Anglicd  {Lat.),  after  the  English  manner. 

Anno  Christ!  {Lat.),  In  the  year  of  Christ. 
Anno  Domini  (A.  D.)  {Lat.),  In  the  year  of  our 
Lord.  [world. 

Anno  mundi  (A.  M.)  {Lat.),  In  the  year  of  the 
Anno  urbis  conditse  (A.U.C.),  In  the  year  the 
city  was  built.  (Rome,  753  B.C.) 

Annus  mirabilis  {Lat.),  The  year  of  wonders. 
Ante  bellum  {Lat.),  before  the  war. 

Ante  meridiem  (A.  M.)  {Lat.),  before  noon. 
Anti  {Lat.),  against. 

A  peu  pr6s  {Fr.),  nearly. 

A  pied  {Fr.),  on  foot. 

A  plomb  {Fr.),  perpendicularly ;  firmly. 

A  posteriori  {Lat.),  from  the  effect  to  the  cause. 
Appui  {Fr.),  point  of  support;  prop  ;  purchase. 
A  priori  {Lat.),  from  the  cause  to  the  effect. 

A  propos  {Fr.),  to  the  point ;  pertinently. 

A  rez  de  chaussee  {Fr.),  even  with  the  ground. 
Argumentum  ad  hominem  {Lat.),  argument  to 
the  man  (personally). 

Argumentum  ad  judicium  {Lat.),  argument  to 
the  judgment. 

Argumentum  baculinum  {Lat.),  argument  of 
the  stick. 

Ars  longa,  vita  brevis  {Lat.),  Art  is  lasting, 
life  is  brief. 

Aut  Caesar,  aut  nullus  {Lat.),  Either  Caesar,  or 
no  one. 

Auto  da  fe  {Portuguese),  an  act  of  faith. 

Aux  armes  {Fr.),  to  arms. 


B 

Beau  ideal  {Fr.),  a  perfect  model  of  beauty,  or 
a  model  of  ideal  perfection. 

Beau  monde  {Fr.),  the  fashionable  world. 
Beaux  esprits  {Fr.),  gay  spirits;  men  of  wit. 
Beaux  yeux  {Fr.),  handsome  eyes ;  attractive 
looks. 

Bete  noire  {Fr.),  a  black  beast;  an  object  of 
aversion ;  a  bugbear. 

Bienvenue  (i^r.),  welcome. 

Billet  doux  {Fr.),  a  love  letter. 

Bis  dat  qui  cito  dat  {Lat.),  He  gives  twice  who 
gives  quickly. 

Bis  pueri  senes  {Lat.),  Old  men  are  twice  boys. 
Bizarre  (A>'.),odd;  fantastic;  vulgar. 

Blase  {Fr.),  surfeited  ;  palled ;  incapable  of  con¬ 
tinued  pleasure. 

Bona  fide  {Lat.),  in  good  faith. 

Bon  ami  {Fr.),  good  friend. 

Bon  gre,  mal  gre  {Fr.),  willing,  or  unwilling. 
Bon  jour  {Fr.),  good  morning. 

Bonne  {Fr.),  a  nurse. 

Bonne  foi  {Fr.),  good  faith. 

Bon  soir  {Fr.),  good  evening. 

Bon  vivant  {Fr.),  one  fond  of  good  living. 
Bouillon  {Fr.),  soup. 

Bravo  !  {It.)  Well  done  ! 

Brevet  d’invention  (Fr.)  letters  patent. 
Brevete  {Fr.),  patented. 


c 

Cacoetbes  {Lat.),  a  mania;  a  habit. 

Cacoetbes  carpendi  {Lat.),  a  mania  for  fault¬ 
finding. 

Cacoetbes  loquendi  {Lat.),  a  mania  for  speak¬ 
ing. 

Cacoetbes  scribendi  (ZaA),  a  mania  for  writing. 

Csetera  desunt  {Lat.),  the  rest  is  wanting. 

Caeteris  paribus  (Za/.),  other  things  being  equal. 

Capias  {Lat.),  you  may  take  ;  —  the  initial  word 
of  a  writ  authorizing  the  arrest  and  keeping 
of  a  person  until  answer  or  satisfaction  is 
made. 

Carpe  diem  {Lat.),  enjoy  the  (pleasures  of  the) 
day ;  seize  the  opportunity. 

Carte  de  visite  {Fr.),  a  small  photograph  on  a 
card  originally  used  as  a  visiting  card. 

Casus  belli  {Lat),  a  cause  or  reason  for  war. 

Causa  sine  qua  non  {Lat.),  an  indispensable 
condition. 

Caveat  actor  {Lat.),  let  the  doer  beware. 

Caveat  emptor  {Lat),  let  the  buyer  beware. 

Certiorari  {Lat),  to  be  made  more  certain. 

C’est-a-dire  {Fr.),  that  is  to  say. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


319 


Champs  flys^es  (Fr.),  Elysian  Fields. 
Chateaux  en  Espagne  (Fr.),  castles  in  Spain; 
air-castles. 

Chef  {Fr.),  the  head  ;  chief  ;  the  chief  cook. 
Chef  de  cuisine  {Fr.),  chief  cook. 
Chef-d’oeuvre  {Fr.),  a  masterpiece. 

Chemin  de  fer  {Fr.),  railroad. 

Chere  amie  {Fr.),  a  dear  friend. 

Chiaroscuro  (//.),  distribution  of  light  and 
shade  in  a  painting. 

Cicerone  (//.),  a  guide. 

Ci  devant  {Fr.),  formerly;  hitherto. 

Ci  git  {Fr.),  here  lies. 

Cis  {Lat.),  on  this  side  of. 

Cogito,  ergo  sum  {Lat.),  I  think,  therefore  I 
exist. 

Coiffeur  {Fr.),  a  hairdresser. 

Coiffure  {Fr.),  a  headdress. 

Comme  il  faut  {Fr.),  as  it  should  be ;  proper. 
Compagnon  de  voyage  {Fr.),  a  traveling  com¬ 
panion. 

Compos  mentis  {Lat.),  of  sound  mind. 

Comte  {Fr.),  Count. 

Comtesse  {Fr.),  Countess. 

Con  amore  (//.),  with  love  ;  passionately. 

Con  dolore  {Lt.),  with  grief ;  sadly. 

Confrere  {Fr.),  an  associate;  a  colleague. 
Conquiescat  in  pace  {Lat.),  May  he  rest  in 
peace. 

Con  spirito  (//.),  with  spirit;  with  animation. 
Conversazione  {Lt.),  conversation;  a  meeting 
for  conversation. 

Corrigenda  {Lat.),  corrections  which  must  be 
made. 

Couleur  de  rose  {Fr.),  rose-color;  beauty  or  at¬ 
tractiveness. 

Coup  d’etat  {Fr.),  a  stroke  of  policy,  usually  a 
radical  move. 

Coup  de  grace  {Fr.),  a  finishing  stroke. 

Coup  de  main  {Fr.),  a  sudden  effort. 

Coup  de  pied  {Fr.),  a  kick. 

Coup  de  soleil  {Fr.),  a  sunstroke. 

Coup  de  theatre  {Fr.),  a  theatrical  effect. 

Coup  d’ceil  {Fr.),  a  glance. 

Cui  bono  ?  {Lat.)  For  whose  good?  What  use? 
Cum  grano  salis  (Za?.),  with  a  grain  of  salt; 
with  some  discretion  or  allowance. 


D 

De  bonis  non  {Lat.),  of  the  goods  not  yet  ad¬ 
ministered  on. 

De  die  in  diem  {Lat.),  from  day  to  day. 

De  facto  {Lat.),  from  the  fact;  of  one’s  own 
right;  really. 


Dehors  (ZV.),  without ;  out  of;  foreign;  irrele¬ 
vant. 

Dei  gratia  {Lat.),  by  the  grace  of  God. 

De  integro  {Lat.),  from  the  start;  anew. 

Dejeuner  a  la  fourchette  {Fr.),  a  meat  break¬ 
fast. 

De  Jure  {Lat.),  by  law ;  by  right. 

Delenda  est  Carthago  {Lat.),  Carthage  must 
be  destroyed. 

De  mal  en  pis  {Fr.),  from  bad  to  worse. 

De  nihilo  nihil  fit  {Lat.),  From  nothing,  noth¬ 
ing  comes. 

De  novo  {Lat.),  anew. 

Deo  volente  (D.V.)  {Lat.),  God  willing. 

De  profundis  {Lat.),  out  of  the  depths. 

Dernier  ressort  {Fr.),  a  last  resort. 

Desideratum  {Lat.),  something  to  be  desired. 

De  trop  {Fr.),  too  many;  out  of  place;  not 
wanted. 

Deus  vobiscum  {Lat.),  God  be  with  you. 

Dictum  {Lat.),  a  decision. 

Dictum  de  dicto  {Lat.),  judgment  from  hear 
say. 

Dies  irse  {Lat.),  day  of  wrath. 

Dies  non  {Lat.),  a  day  upon  which  a  court  does 
not  sit. 

Dieu  avec  nous  {Fr.),  God  with  us. 

Dieu  defend  le  droit  {Fr.),  God  defends  the 
right. 

Dieu  et  mon  droit  {Fr.),  God  and  my  riglit. 

Dieu  vous  garde  {Fr.),  God  protect  you. 

Dilettante  {Lt.),  a  lover  of  fine  arts. 

Diner  {Fr.),  dinner. 

Dirigo  {Lat.),  I  direct  or  guide;  —  the  motto  of 
Maine. 

Distingue  (Zr.),  distinguished ;  eminent. 

Distrait  {Fr.),  absent-minded ;  distressed  in 
mind. 

Divertissement  {Fr.),  amusement;  recreation. 

Docendo  discimus  {Lat.),  we  learn  by  teach¬ 
ing. 

Dolce  {Lt.),  sweet;  pleasant;  agreeable. 

Dolce  far  niente  {Lt.),  sweet  idleness;  luxuri¬ 
ous  ease. 

Dolcemente  {Lt.),  softly. 

Doloroso  {Lt.),  soft  and  pathetic. 

Dominus  vobiscum  {Lat.),  the  Lord  be  with 
you. 

Double  entente  {Fr.),  an  equivocal  or  double- 
meaning  phrase;  —  wrongly  written  double 
entendre. 

Doux  yeux  {Fr.),  soft  glances. 

Dramatis  personae  {Lat.),  cast  of  characters  in 
a  play. 

Dulce  «Domum»  {Lat.),  « Home,  Sweet 
Horne.^^ 

Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori  {Lat.), 
It  is  a  sweet  and  becoming  thing  to  die  for 
one’s  country. 


320 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Dum  spiro,  spero  (Lat.),  While  I  breathe,  I 
hope  ;  — part  of  the  motto  of  South  Carolina. 
Dum  vivimus,  vivamiis  {Lat.),  While  we  live, 
let  us  live. 

Durante  vita  {Lat.),  during  life. 


E 

Eau  de  Cologne  {Fr.),  Cologne  water. 

Eau  de  vie  {Fr.),  water  of  life ;  brandy. 

Ecce  homo  {Lat.),  behold  the  man. 

Ecce  signum  {Lat.),  behold  the  sign. 

^cole  de  droit  {Fr.),  school  of  law. 

Ecole  de  medecine  {Fr.),  medical  school. 

Ecole  militaire  {Fr.),  military  school. 

Ecole  polytechnique  {Fr.),  polytechnic  school. 
E  contrarib  (//.),  on  the  contrary. 

Edition  de  luxe  {Fr.),  a  splendid  edition  of  a 
book. 

Editio  princeps  {Lat.),  the  first  edition  of  a 
book. 

^galitd  {Fr.),  equality. 

Emeritus  {Lat.),  one  who  has  retired  from  ac¬ 
tive  duties,  as  a  professor. 

En  arriere  {Fr.),  in  the  rear;  behind;  back. 

En  avant !  {Fr.)  Forward  ! 

En  bagatelle  (AV.),  trifling ;  contemptuously. 
En  deshabille  {Fr.),  in  undress. 

En  echelon  {Fr.),  in  steps  ;  like  stairs. 

En  eflfet  {Fr.),  in  effect;  really;  in  fact. 

En  famine  {Fr.),  in  a  domestic  state  ;  at  home. 
Enfant  gate  {Fr.),  a  spoiled  child. 

Enfant  terrible  {Fr.),  a  child  who  annoys  by 
ill-timed  remarks. 

Enfin  {Fr.),  at  length;  at  last;  finally. 

En  grande  tenue  {Fr.),  in  full  dress. 

En  haut  {Fr.),  on  high ;  above. 

En  masse  {Fr.),  in  a  body. 

Ennui  {Fr.),  weariness;  a  state  of  being  bored. 
En  passant  {Fr.),  in  passing;  by  the  way. 

En  queue  {Fr.),  in  the  rear;  behind. 

En  rapport  {Fr.),  in  harmony,  or  agreement,  or 
close  touch,  with. 

En  regie  {Fr.),  in  order;  according  to  rule. 

En  revanche  {Fr.),  in  return. 

En  route  {Fr.),  on  the  way. 

En  suite  {Fr.),  in  company. 

Entente  cordiale  {Fr.),  evidences  of  good  will 
and  harmony  existing  between  two  states  or 
kingdoms. 

Entourage  {Fr.),  surroundings. 

En  tout  {Fr.),  in  all ;  wholly. 

Entre  deux  feux  {Fr.),  between  two  fires;  in  a 
dilemma. 

Entremets  {Fr.),  small,  side  dishes. 


Entre  nous  {Fr.),  between  ourselves;  in  confi¬ 
dence. 

Entrepot  {Fr.),  a  storehouse  ;  warehouse  ;  mag¬ 
azine. 

En  verite  {Fr.),  in  truth  ;  truly. 

E  pluribus  unum  {Lat.),  One  out  of  many;  — 
the  motto  of  the  United  States,  which  is  one 
government  formed  of  many  separate  states. 

Erratum,  errata,  pi.  {Lat.),  an  error. 

Esprit  de  corps  {Fr.),  the  spirit  which  animates 
a  body  or  organization  such  as  the  bar,  the 
army,  or  navy. 

^tage  {Fr.),  the  story  of  a  house. 

Et  csetera  {Lat.),  and  the  rest. 

Et  sequentes,  et  sequentia  {Lat.),  and  what 
follows ;  et.  seq. 

Et  tu  Brute  !  {Lat.)  And  you,  also,  Brutus  ! 

RvprjKa,  (Eureka!)  {Gr.)  I  have  found  it!  — 
the  motto  of  California. 

Ewigkeit  {Ger.),  eternity. 

Ex  cathedra  {Lat.),  from  the  chair  or  bench ; 
from  one  in  authority;  —  the  decisions  de¬ 
livered  by  popes  and  others  in  authority. 

Excelsior  {Lat.),  Higher; — the  motto  of  New 
York. 

Exceptis  excipiendis  {Lat.),  proper  exceptions 
having  been  made. 

Excerpta  {Lat.),  extracts. 

Ex  curia  {Lat.),  out  of  court. 

Ex  dono  {Lat.),  by  the  gift. 

Exempli  gratia  {Lat.),  by  way  of  example  ;  e.g. 

Exeunt  {Lat.),  they  go  out. 

Exeunt  omnes  {Lat.),  all  go  out. 

Exit  {Lat.),  he  goes  out. 

Exitus  acta  probat  {Lat.),  The  result  justifies 
the  deed  ;  —  the  motto  of  Washington. 

Ex  mero  motu  {Lat.),  of  his  own  accord. 

Ex  more  {Lat.),  according  to  custom. 

Ex  necessitate  rei  {Lat.),  from  the  necessity  of 
the  case  or  thing. 

Ex  ofBcio  {Lat.),  by  virtue  of  his  office. 

Ex  parte  {Lat.),  on  one  side  only. 

Experto  crede  {Lat.),  take  the  experience  or 
one  who  has  tried. 

Ex  post  facto  {Lat.),  after  the  deed  is  done. 

Ex  propriis  {Lat.),  from  one’s  own  resources. 

Ex  tacito  {Lat.),  tacitly. 

Ex  tempore  {Lat.},  without  preparation  or  fore¬ 
thought. 

Ex  uno  disce  omnes  {Lat.),  from  one  learn  all. 


F 

Facetiae  (Z^?/.),  jokes ;  humorous  sayings. 
Facile  princeps  {Lat.),  easily  first;  the  admit¬ 
ted  chief. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Facilis  descensus  Averno  {Lat.),  the  descent 
to  hell  is  easy. 

Fa9on  de  parler  {Fr.),  manner  of  speaking. 

Facsimile  {Lat.),  make  it  like;  an  exact 
copy. 

Factotum  {/.at.),  man  of  all  work. 

Faire  mon  devoir  [Fr.),  to  do  my  duty. 

Faire  sans  dire  (Fr.),  to  do  without  saying;  to 
act  unostentatiously. 

Fait  accompli  (Fr.),  something  already  done. 

Far  niente  {It.),  doing  nothing. 

Fauteuil  {Fr.),  an  armchair. 

Faux  pas  {Fr.),  a  false  step  ;  a  mistake. 

Fecit  {Lat.),  he  made  it. 

Femme  couverte  {Fr.),  a  married  woman. 

Femme  de  chambre  {Fr.),  a  chambermaid. 

Femme  de  charge  {Fr.),  a  housekeeper. 

Femme  sole  {Fr.),  an  unmarried  woman. 

Ferme  orn^e  {Fr.),  an  ornamented  farm. 

Festina  lente  {Lat.),  make  haste  slowly. 

Fete  champetre  {Fr.),  a  rural  festival. 

Fete  Dieu  {Fr.),  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi. 

Feu  de  joie  {Fr.),  a  firing  of  guns  on  joyous  oc¬ 
casions  ;  a  bonfire. 

Fiat  justitia,  ruat  caelum  {Lat.),  Let  justice 
be  done,  though  the  heavens  fall. 

Fiat  lux  {Lat.),  let  there  be  light. 

Fide  et  amore  {Lat.),  by  faith  and  love. 

Fidei  defensor  {Lat.),  defender  of  the  faith. 

Fides  Punica  {Lat.),  Punic  faith;  treachery. 

Fidus  Achates  {Lat.),  faithful  Achates;  a  true 
friend. 

Fille  de  joie  {Fr.),  a  woman  of  low  pleas¬ 
ures. 

Fils  {Fr.\  son. 

Finis  {Lat.),  the  end. 

Finis  coronat  opus  {Lat.),  The  end  crowns  the 
work. 

Flagrante  hello  {Lat.),  while  war  is  going 
on. 

Flagrante  delicto  (Za/.),  while  committing  the 
crime. 

Fleur  d’eau  {Fr.),  even  with  the  surface  of  the 
water. 

Forsan  et  haec  olim  meminisse  juvabit 

{Lat.),  Perchance,  in  after  years,  it  may  re¬ 
joice  you  to  remember  even  these  things. 

Fortes  fortuna  juvat  {Lat.),  Fortune  favors  the 
brave. 

Fortiter  in  re  (Lat.),  firmness  in  action. 

Fra  (//.),  brother;  friar. 

Frais  {Fr.),  cost;  expense. 

Franco  {Lt.),  post  free. 

Front  a  front  {Fr.),  face  to  face. 

Fugit  hora  {Lat.),  the  hour  flies. 

Functus  of&cio  {Lat.),  his  office  having  been 
completed  ;  hence,  out  of  office. 

Furor  loquendi  {Lat.),  a  rage  for  speaking. 

Furor  scribendi  {Lat.),  a  rage  for  writing. 

13—21 


32  1 

G 

Gallice  {Lat.),  in  French. 

Gar9on  {Fr.),  boy;  waiter. 

Garde  a  cheval  {Fr.),  a  mounted  escort  or 
guard. 

Garde  du  corps  {Fr.),  a  body  guard. 

Garde-feu  {Fr.),  a  fire  guard. 

Gardez  {Fr.),  take  care  ;  be  on  your  guard. 
Gardez  bien  {Fr.),  take  good  care. 

Gens  d’armes  {Fr.),  armed  police. 

Gitano  {Sp.),  a  gypsy. 

Gloria  in  excelsis  {Lat.),  Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest. 

Gloria  Patri  {Lat.),  Glory  be  to  the  Father. 
TvuQl  aeavTov  (Gnotbi  seauton)  {Gr.),  knov/ 
thyself. 

Grace  a  Dieu  (Zr.),  thanks  to  God. 

Grande  parure  {Fr.),  full  dress. 

Grande  toilette  {Fr.),  full  dress. 

Grand  merci  (Z'n),  many  thanks. 

Gratis  dictum  {Lat.),  mere  assertion. 

Guerra  k  cucbillo  {Sp.),  war  to  the  knife. 
Guerre  a  mort  {Fr.),  w'ar  to  the  death. 

Guerre  a  outrance  {Fr.),  war  to  the  finish. 


H 

Habile  (Zr.),  clever ;  skilful. 

Hac  lege  {Lat.),  with  this  ruling  or  condition. 

’ 2,ey6iLi£vov  (Hapax  legomenon)  {Gr.), 
said  but  once  (of  a  rare  word  or  remark). 

Haud  ignara  mali,  miseris  succurrere  disco 
{Lat.),  Not  ignorant  of  misfortunes  myself,  I 
learn  to  succor  the  wretched. 

Haut  et  bon  (Zr.),  high  and  good. 

Haut  godt  (Zr.),  high  flavor;  good  taste. 

Hie  et  ubique  {Lat.),  here  and  everywhere. 

Hie  finis  fandi  {Lat.),  here  there  was  an  end  of 
speaking. 

Hie  jacet  {Lat.),  here  lies. 

Hie  labor,  hoc  opus  est  {Lat.),  Plere  is  labor, 
here  is  work. 

Hie  sepultus  {Lat.),  here  is  buried. 

Hinc  illse  lacrimse  {Lat.),  hence  these  tears. 

Hoc  age  {Lat.),  do  this. 

Hoc  anno  {Lat.),  in  this  year. 

Hoc  loco  {Lat.),  in  this  place. 

Hoc  tempore  {Lat.),  at  this  time. 

Of  ttoTLol  (Hoi  polloi)  {Gr.),  the  many;  the 
rabble ;  the  mob. 

Hombre  de  uno  libro  (6)>.),  a  man  of  only  one 
book. 

Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense  (Zr.),  Let  evil  be  to 
him  who  evil  thinks. 

Hora  d  sempre  {Lt.),  it  is  always  time. 


322 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Horriblle  dlctu  (Lat.),  horrible  to  relate. 

Hors  de  combat  out  of  condition  to  fight. 

Hors  de  propos  not  to  the  point  or  pur¬ 

pose  ;  not  apropos. 

Hors  d’oeuvre  (jFr.),  out  of  course  ;  out  of  order. 
Hortus  siccus  (Lat.),  a  collection  of  dried 
plants;  a  botanical  collection. 

Hotel  de  ville  the  town  hall. 

Hotel  garni  (/>.),  furnished  lodgings. 
Humanum  est  errare  (Lat.),  it  is  human  to  err. 


I 

Icb  dien  (Ger.),  I  serve;  —  the  motto  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales. 

Id  est  {Lat.),  that  is  ;  t.  e. 

Ignorantia  legis  neminem  excusat  {Lat.),  Ig¬ 
norance  of  the  law  excuses  no  one. 

Impedimenta  {Lat.),  baggage,  especially  that 
of  an  army. 

Impoli  (AV.),  unpolished  ;  rude. 

Impolitesse  (Ar.),  coarseness ;  rudeness. 

In  actu  {Lat.),  in  act  or  reality. 

In  seternum  {Lat.),  forever. 

In  ambiguo  {Lat.),  in  doubt. 

In  armis  {Lat.),  under  arms. 

In  articulo  mortis  {Lat.),  at  the  point  of  death. 

In  camera  {Lat.),  in  secret. 

In  curia  {Lat.),  in  the  court. 

Index  expurgatorius  {Lat.),  a  list  of  prohibited 
books. 

In  dubiis  {Lat.),  in  matters  of  doubt. 

In  equilibrio  {Lat.),  in  equilibrium;  perfectly 
balanced. 

In  esse  {Lat.),  in  being. 

In  extenso  {Lat.),  at  full  length. 

In  extremis  {Lat.),  at  the  point  of  death. 

Infra  dignitatem  {Lat.),  beneath  one’s  dignity; 
infra  dig. 

In  boc  signo  spes  mea  {Lat.),  In  this  sign  is  my 
hope. 

In  hoc  signo  vinces  {Lat.),  By  this  sign  )-ou 
shall  conquer. 

In  limine  {Lat.),  at  the  outset;  on  the  thresh¬ 
old. 

In  loco  {Lat.)  in  place. 

In  loco  parentis  {Lat.),  in  the  place  of  a  par¬ 
ent. 

In  medias  res  {Lat.),  into  the  midst  of  things. 

In  medio  tutissimus  ibis  {Lat.),  you  will  go 
most  safely  in  the  middle ;  a  middle  course 
is  the  safest. 

In  memoriam  {Lat.),  in  memory;  to  the  mem¬ 
ory  of. 

In  nomine  {Lat.),  in  the  name  of. 


In  perpetuum  {Lat.),  forever. 

In  pleno  {Lat.),  in  full. 

In  posse  {Lat.),  in  possibility. 

In  praesenti  {Lat.),  at  the  present  time. 

In  propria  persona  {Lat.),  in  person. 

In  re  {Lat.),  in  the  matter  of. 

In  rem  {Lat.),  against  the  property  or  thing. 

In  rerum  natura  {Lat.),  in  the  nature  of  things. 
In  saecula  saeculorum  {Lat.),  for  ages  on  ages. 
In  sano  sensu  {Lat.),  in  a  proper  sense. 
Insculpsit  {Lat.),  he  engraved  it. 

In  situ  {Lat.),  in  its  proper  or  natural  position. 
Insouciance  indifference  ;  carelessness. 

Insouciant  (AV.),  indifferent ;  careless. 

In  statu  quo  {Lat.),  in  the  former  state. 

In  stirpes  {Lat.),  according  to  ancestry. 

Inter  alia  {Lat.),  among  other  things. 

Inter  canem  et  lupum  {Lat.),  between  dog  and 
wolf,  i.  e.,  twilight. 

Inter  nos  {Lat.),  between  ourselves. 

Inter  se  {Lat.),  among  themselves. 

In  totidem  verbis  {Lat.),  in  so  many  words. 

In  toto  {Lat.),  in  the  whole,  entirely. 

Intra  muros  {Lat.),  within  the  walls. 

In  transitu  {Lat.),  in  transit;  on  the  journey. 
Intra  parietes  (Zu:/.),  within  walls ;  in  private. 
In  usu  {Lat.),  in  use. 

In  utrumque  paratus  {Lat.),  prepared  for 
either  event. 

In  vacuo  {Lat.),  in  a  vacuum;  in  an  empty 
space. 

Inver  so  ordine  {Lat.),  in  an  inverted  order. 

In  vino  veritas  {Lat.),  there  is  truth  in  wine. 
Ipse  dixit  {Lat.),  he  said  it  himself ;  a  mere 
dogma. 

Ipso  facto  {Lat.),  in  the  fact  itself. 

Ita  est  {JLat.),  it  is  so,  or  thus. 


J 

Jacta  est  alea  {Lat.),  the  die  is  cast. 

Jamais  arriere  {Fr.),  never  behind. 

Januis  clausis  {Lat.),  with  closed  doors. 
Jardin  des  Plantes  {Fr.),  the  botanical  gar¬ 
dens. 

Je  ne  sais  quoi  {Fr.),  I  know  not  what. 

'Je  suis  pret  {Fr.),  I  am  ready. 

Jet  d’eau  {Fr.),  jet  of  water. 

Jeu  de  mots  (Fr.),  a  play  of  words ;  a  pun. 

Jeu  d’esprit  (Fr.),  a  witticism. 

Jeu  de  theatre  (Fr.),  a  stage  trick ;  cheap  play. 

done  for  effect. 

Joli  (Fr.),  pretty. 

Jubilate  Deo  {Lat.),  be  joyful  in  the  Lord. 
Judicium  Dei  (Lat.),  the  judgment  of  God. 


BUSINESS  ANt)  COMMERCE 


323 


L 

La  beauts  sans  vertu  est  une  fleur  sans  par- 

fum  Beauty  without  virtue  is  a  flower 

without  perfume. 

L’abito  e  una  seconda  natura  (Ac.),  Habit  is 
second  nature. 

Lahore  et  honore  (Lat.),  by  labor  and  honor. 

Labor  ipse  voluptas  (Lat.),  Labor  itself  is 
pleasure. 

Labor  omnia  vincit  {Lat.),  Labor  conquers  all 
things. 

Laborum  dulce  lenimen  {Lat.),  the  sweet  so¬ 
lace  of  our  labors. 

La  critique  est  aisee,  et  I’art  est  difficile 
{Fr.),  Criticism  is  easy,  the  doing  is  hard. 

Laissez  faire  {Fr.),  let  alone;  let  things  take 
their  natural  course. 

La,  la  {Fr.),  so,  so;  indifferently. 

Lapsus  calami  {Lat.),  a  slip  of  the  pen. 

Lapsus  linguae  {Lat.),  a  slip  of  the  tongue. 

Lapsus  memoriae  {Lat.),  a.  slip  of  the  memory. 

Lares  et  penates  {Lat.),  household  gods.  . 

L’argent  {Fr.),  money. 

Latet  anguis  in  herba  {Lat.),  A  snake  lies  hid¬ 
den  in  the  grass. 

Laudator  temporis  acti  {Lat.),  A  praiser  of 
past  times. 

Laudum  immensa  cupido  {Lat.),  an  inordi¬ 
nate  desire  for  praise. 

Laus  Deo  {Lat.),  praise  God. 

L’avenir  {Fr.),  the  future. 

Le  beau  monde  {Fr.),  the  fashionable  world. 

Le  grand  monarque  {Fr.),  the  great  monarch, 
—  Louis  XIV. 

Le  jeu  n’en  vaut  pas  la  chandelle  {Fr.),  The 
game  is  not  worth  the  candle. 

Le  monde  est  le  livre  des  femmes  {Fr.),  The 
world  is  the  book  of  women. 

Le  monde  savant  {Fr.),  the  learned  world. 

Le  roi  et  I’etat  {Fr.),  king  and  state. 

Le  roi  le  veut  {Fr.),  the  king  wills  it. 

Le  savoir-faire  {Fr.),  ability;  skill. 

Les  bras  croises  {Fr.),  with  folded  arms. 

Lese-majeste  {Fr.),  high  treason. 

Les  larmes  aux  yeux  {Fr.),  tears  in  one’s  eyes. 

Les  murailles  ont  des  oreilles  {Fr.),  Walls 
have  ears. 

L’^tat,  c’est  moi  {Fr.),  I  am  the  state. 

L’etoile  du  nord  {Fr.),  The  star  of  the  north; 
—  the  motto  of  Minnesota. 

Le  tout  ensemble  {Fr.),  all  together;  the  effect 
of  the  whole 

Lettre  de  cachet  {Fr.),  a  seal  letter. 

Lettre  de  change  {Fr.),  a  bill  of  exchange. 

Lettre  de  creance  {Fr.),  a  letter  of  credit. 

Lettre  de  marque  {Fr.),  a  letter  of  reprisal. 

Lex  non  scripta  {Lat.),  the  unwritten  law. 

Lex  scripta  {Lat.),  statute  law. 


L’homme  propose,  et  Dieu  dispose  {Fr.),  Man 
proposes,  and  God  disposes. 

Libraire  {Fr.),  a  bookseller. 

L’inconnu  {Fr.),  the  unknown. 

L’incroyable  {Fr.),  the  incredible. 

Lingua  franca  {Lt.),  The  mixed  language  of 
Europeans  in  the  East. 

Lis  pendens  {Lat.),  a  pending  suit. 

Lis  sub  judice  {Lat.),  a  case  yet  to  be  decided. 
Lite  pendente  {Lat.),  during  the  trial. 

Loco  citato  {Lat.),  in  the  place  named. 

Locum  tenens  {Lat.),  one  holding  the  place. 
Locus  in  quo  {Lat.),  the  place  in  which. 

Locus  sigilli  {Lat.),  the  place  for  the  seal. 
(L.  S.) 


M 

Ma  chere  {Fr.),  My  dear. 

Ma  foi  {Fr.),  My  faith. 

Magna  est  veritas,  et  praevalebit  {Lat.),Trnth 
is  mighty  and  will  prevail. 

Magnum  bonum  {Lat.),  a  great  good. 

Magnum  opus  {Lat.),  a  great  work. 

Maison  de  campagne  {Fr.),  a  country  house. 
Maitre  d’hotel  {Fr.),  a  house  steward. 

Malade  {Fr.),  sick. 

Mai  a  propos  {Fr.),  ill-timed. 

Mai  de  dents  {Fr.),  toothache. 

Mai  de  mer  {Fr.),  seasickness. 

Mai  de  tete  {Fr.),  headache. 

Malgre  nous  {Fr.),  in  spite  of  us. 

Mardi  gras  {Fr.),  Shrove  Tuesday. 
Materfamilias  {Lat.),  mother  of  a  family. 
Mauvaise  honte  {Fr.),  false  modesty. 

Mauvais  godt  {Fr.),  bad  taste. 

Mauvais  sujet  {Fr.),  a  worthless  fellow. 

Mea  culpa  {Lat.),  through  my  fault. 

Me  judice  {Lat.),  in  my  opinion. 

Memento  mori  {Lat.),  remember  death. 
Memorabilia  {Lat.),  things  worth  remembering. 
Mens  Sana  in  sano  corpore  {Lat.),  a  sound 
mind  in  a  sound  body. 

Menu  Terms  in  Common  Usage. — 


Abricots . Apricots. 

Agneau  -----  Lamb. 

Alose  ------  Shad. 

Alouettes  -  -  -  -  Larks. 

Aloyau . Sirloin  of  Beef. 

Amandes  -  -  -  -  Almonds. 

Ananas . Pineapples. 

Anchois . Anchovy. 

Anguilles  -  -  -  .  Eels. 

Artichaut  -  -  -  -  Artichoke. 

Bdcasse . Woodcock. 

B^cassine  -  -  .  .  Snipe. 


324 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Menu  Terms.—  Continued 


Beignets . 

Fritters. 

Beurre . 

Butter. 

Blanchailles  -  -  - 

Whitebait. 

Boeuf . 

Beef. 

Bouilli . 

Boiled  Beef. 

Bouillie . 

Hasty  Pudding. 

Brochet . 

Pike. 

Cabillaud  .  -  -  - 

Cod. 

Canards . 

Ducks. 

Canards  Sauvages 

Wild  Ducks. 

Canetons  -  -  -  - 

Ducklings. 

Cafd . 

Coffee. 

Capres . 

Capers. 

Carrelet . 

Flounder. 

Caviare . 

Dried  Sturgeon’s 
Liver. 

Champignons  -  -  - 

Mushrooms. 

Choux . 

Cabbage. 

Choux  de  Bruxelles  - 

Brussels  Sprouts. 

Choux  Marins  -  -  - 

Sea  Kale. 

Citron . 

Lemon. 

Compote . 

Stew  of  Fruit  or 
Pigeons. 

Concombre  -  -  -  - 

Cucumber. 

Confitures  -  -  -  - 
Consommd  de  tete  de 

Sweets. 

veau . 

Mock  Turtle  Soup. 

Cotelettes  de  Mouton, 

Mutton  Cutlets. 

Cotes  de  Boeuf  -  - 

Ribs  of  Beef. 

Courge . 

Vegetable  Marrow, 
Pumpkin. 

Cressons . 

Cresses. 

Crevettes  -  -  -  . 

Prawns. 

Diablotins  -  -  -  - 

Chocolate  Crackers, 
etc. 

Dindon . 

Turkey. 

Eglefin . 

Haddock. 

Entremets  -  -  -  - 

Side-dishes. 

Eperlans . 

Smelts. 

Epinard . 

Spinach. 

Esturgeon  -  -  -  - 

Sturgeon. 

Etuvde  . 

Stew. 

Farce . 

Forced  Meat. 

Farci . 

Stuffed. 

Figues  . 

Figs. 

Fillet  de  Veau  -  - 

Fillet  of  Veal. 

Frais . 

Fresh. 

Framboises  .  -  - 

Raspberries. 

Frit . 

Fried. 

From  age . 

Cheese. 

Gateau . 

Cake. 

Gelde . 

Jelly. 

Gibelottes  -  -  -  - 

Rabbit  Stew 

Gibier . 

Game. 

Glaces  . 

Ices. 

Goujons  -  ...  - 

Gudgeons. 

Gratin 

Burnt  Bread  Scrap¬ 
ings. 

GrilM . 

Broiled. 

Groseilles  -  .  -  - 

Gooseberries. 

Harengs  pec  -  -  - 

Pickeled  or  Red  Her 

rings. 

Harenguets  -  -  -  - 

Sprats. 

Haricots  verts  -  -  - 

French  Beans. 

Hollandaise  verte 

Green  Dutch  Sauce. 

Homard . 

Lobster. 

Huitres . 

Oysters. 

Jambon . 

Ham. 

Jigot  de  Mouton  -  - 

Leg  of  Mutton. 

Lait . 

Milk. 

Laitances  -  -  -  . 

Fish  Roes. 

Lapin  - . 

Rabbit. 

Lapin  au  Kari  -  -  - 

Curried  Rabbit, 

Legumes  ----- 

Vegetables. 

Lievre  . 

Hare. 

Longe . 

Loin. 

Maquereau  -  -  -  - 

Mackerel. 

Marrons . 

Chestnuts. 

Matelote . 

Fish  Stew. 

Merlan  ----- 

Whiting. 

Monies . 

Mussels. 

Mouton . 

Mutton. 

Navet . 

Turnip. 

Nougat . 

Almond  Cake. 

Qiufs  a  rindienne  - 

Curried  Eggs. 

Oie . 

Goose. 

Oignons . 

Onions. 

Oison . 

Gosling. 

Orge . 

Barley. 

Pailles  de  Parmesan, 

Cheese  Straw 

Pain  ------ 

Bread. 

Panais . 

Parsnip. 

Patd  de  fois  Gras  -  - 

Goose  Liver  Pie. 

Patesserie  -  -  -  - 

Pastry. 

Peches  . 

Peaches. 

Perdreaux  -  -  -  - 

Partridges. 

Petits  Pois  -  -  -  - 

Green  Peas. 

Pluviers  -  -  -  -  - 

Plovers. 

Pofereau . 

Leek. 

Pois  - . 

Peas. 

Poissons . 

Fish. 

Pommes . 

Apples. 

Pommes  de  Terre 

Potatoes. 

Potage  de  Leoraut  - 
Potage  de  Queue  de 

Hare  Soup. 

Boeuf . 

Ox-tail  Soup. 

Purde  de  Pois  -  -  - 

Pea  Soup. 

Ragout . 

Hash. 

Raie . 

Skate. 

Raifort . 

Horse-radish. 

Raitons . 

Small  Skate. 

Ramier . 

Wood  Pigeon. 

Rechauffe  -  .  .  - 

Warmed  Again. 

Ris  de  Veau  -  -  - 

Veal  Sweetbreads. 

Rissolettes  -  -  -  - 

Roasts. 

Rissole: . 

Fritter  with  Mixed 

Meat. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


325 


Menu  Terms. —  Continued 


Rot,  Roti  .  -  -  - 

Roast. 

Rouelle  de  Veau  Roti, 

Roast  Fillet  of  Veal. 

Rouget  ----- 

Red  Mullet. 

Sagou  . 

Sago. 

Salmi  de  Gibier  -  - 

Hashed  Game. 

Saucisses  -  -  -  - 

Sausages. 

Saumon  ----- 

Salmon. 

Selle  de  Mouton  -  - 

Saddle  of  Mutton. 

Soupe  de  ITnde  -  - 

Mulligatawny  Soup. 

Soupe  Maigre  -  -  - 

Soup  without  Meat. 

Terrine . 

Potted. 

The . 

Tea. 

Tortue  ----- 

Turtle. 

Tortue  Claire  -  -  - 

Clear  Turtle  Soup. 

Tourtellettes  -  -  - 

Cheese  Cakes. 

Tourtes . 

T  arts. 

Truit . 

Trout. 

Veau  ------ 

Veal. 

Venaison  -  -  -  - 

Venison. 

Volaille . 

Fowl,  Chicken. 

Mesalliance  {Fr.),  marriage  beneath  one. 

Meum  et  tuum  (Lat.),  mine  and  thine. 

Mirabile  dictu  {Lat.),  wonderful  to  tell. 

Mirabile  visu  {Lat.)  wonderful  to  see. 

Mise  en  scene  {Fr.),  preparation  of  the  stage 
for  a  play. 

Mittimus  {Lat.),  we  send  ;  —  a  writ  of  commit¬ 
ment  to  prison. 

Modus  operandi  {Lat.),  mode  of  operation. 

Mon  ami  {Fr.),  my  friend. 

Mon  Cher  {Fr.)  my  dear. 

More  majorum  {Lat.),  a^ter  the  manner  of  our 
ancestors. 

More  suo  {Lat.),  in  his  own  way. 

Multum  in  parvo  {Lat.),  much  in  little. 

Mutatis  mutandis  {Lat),  the  necessary 
changes  having  been  made. 

Mutato  nomine  {Lat.),  the  name  having  been 
changed. 


N 

Nee  {Fr.),  born,  used  to  indicate  the  maiden 
name  of  a  married  woman. 

Ne  exeat  {Lat.),  let  him  not  depart. 

Neglige  {Fr.),  a  morning  dress. 

Nemine  contradicente  {Lat.),  no  one  offering 
opposition;  nem.  con. 

Nemo  me  impune  lacessit  {Lat.),  No  one  in¬ 
jures  me  with  impunity  ;  —  ^  None  daur  med¬ 
dle  wi’  me ;  — the  motto  of  Scotland. 

Ne  plus  ultra  (Z^z^.), nothing  further;  the  high¬ 
est  perfection. 

Ne  quid  nimis  {Lat.),  not  anything  too  much 
or  too  far. 


Ne  tentes,  aut  perflce  {Lat),  attempt  not  or 
finish  thoroughly. 

Nihil  ad  rem  {Lat.),  nothing  to  the  point. 

Nil  desperandum  {Lat.),  never  despair. 

Nil  sine  numine  (Za^.),  Nothing  without  God; 
—  the  motto  of  Colorado. 

N’ imports  {Fr.),  it  matters  not. 

Noblesse  oblige  {Fr.)  rank  imposes  obliga¬ 
tion. 

Nolens  volens  {Lat.),  whether  he  will  or  not. 

Noli  me  tangere  {Lat.)  do  not  touch  me. 

Nolle  prosequi  {Lat.),  to  be  unwilling  to  pro¬ 
ceed. 

Nom  de  guerre  {Fr.),  a  war  name  ;  a  pseudo¬ 
nym. 

Nom  de  plume  {Fr.),  a  literary  name  or  pseu¬ 
donym. 

Non  compos  mentis  {Lat.),  not  of  sound  mind. 

Non  multa,  sed  multum  {Lat.),  not  many 
things,  but  much. 

Non  nobis  solum  {Lat.),  wot  for  ourselves  alone. 

Non  sequitur  {Lat),  it  does  not  follow. 

Nota  hene  {Lat),  mark  well;  note  carefully; 

N.  B. 

Notre  Dame  {Fr.),  Our  Lady. 

N’oubliez  pas  {Fr.),  do  not  forget. 

Nous  verrons  {Fr.),  we  shall  see. 

Nouvelles  (Z>.),news. 

Nulli  secundus  {Lat.),  second  to  none. 

Nunc  aut  nunquam  {Lat),  now  or  never. 


o 

Obiit  {Lat),  he  died. 

Obiter  dictum  {Lat),  something  said  in  pass¬ 
ing  a  subject. 

Odi  profanum  vulgus  {Lat.),  I  hate  the  com¬ 
mon  crowd. 

(Eil  de  bceuf  {Fr.),  bull’s-eye  ;  marguerite. 

CEuvres  {Fr.),  works. 

Omnia  ad  Dei  gloriam  {Lat.),  all  things  to  the 
glory  of  God. 

Omnia  bona  bonis  {Lat.),  To  the  good  all 
things  are  good. 

Omnia  vincit  amor  (Za/.),  Love  conquers  all 
things. 

Omnia  vincit  labor  {Lat),  Labor  conquers  all 
things. 

On  dit  {Fr.),  they  say  ;  it  is  said  ;  rumor  says. 

Ora  et  labora  {Lat.),  work  and  pray. 

Ora  pro  nobis  {Lat.),  pray  for  us. 

Ore  rotundo  {Lat.),  with  round,  fuP  voice. 

0  temporal  0  mores!  (Z^zz*.)  O  the  times!  O 
the  manners ! 

Otium  cum  dignitate  {Lat.),  ease  with  dig¬ 
nity. 


326 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Oui-dire  [Fr.),  hearsay  ,  rumor. 
Ouvert  (A>.),open. 

Ouvrage  {Fr.),  work, 

Ouvriers  (FrA,  workmen. 


P 

Padrone  (//.), master ;  employer;  landlord. 
Pallida  mors  {Lat.),  pale  death. 

Palmam  qui  meruit  ferat  {Lat),  Let  him  bear 
the  palm  who  deserves  it. 

Palma  non  sine  pulvere  {Lat),  There  is  no 
palm  without  dust  (of  the  arena)  ;  no  reward 
without  toil. 

Par  accord  {Fr.),  by  ag^reement. 

Par  ci  par  la  {Fr.),  here  and  there. 

Par  excellence  {Fr.),  by  way  of  eminence. 

Par  exemple  {Fr.),  by  example. 

Par  force  {Fr.),  by  force. 

Par  hasard  (Fr.),  by  chance. 

Pari  passu  {Lat),  with  equal  pace  ;  together. 
Parlez  du  loup,  et  vous  verrez  sa  queue  {Fr.), 
Speak  of  the  wolf  and  you  will  see  his  tail. 
Parole  d’honneur  {Fr.),  word  of  honor. 
Particeps  criminis  {Lat.),  a  party  to  the  crime ; 
an  accomplice. 

Partie  caree  {Fr.),  a  party  of  four ;  two  couples. 
Partout  {Fr  ),  everywhere. 

Passager  {Fr.),  a  passenger. 

Passe-partout  {Fr.),  a  pass  everywhere;  a 
master-key. 

Passim  {Lat.\,  everywhere. 

Paterfamilias  {Lat.),  father  of  a  family. 

Pater  noster  {Lat.),Owx  Father;  the  Lord’s 
Prayer. 

Pater  patriae  {I.at.),  Father  of  his  country. 

Pax  in  bello  {Lat.),  peace  in  war. 

Pax  vobiscum  {Lat.),  Peace  be  with  you. 
Peccavi  {Lat.),  I  have  sinned. 

Pendente  lite  {Lat),  pending  the  suit. 

Pensee  {Fr.),  a  thought. 

Per  annum  {Lat),  by  the  year. 

Per  aspera  ad  astra  {Lat),  through  difficul¬ 
ties  to  the  stars. 

Per  capita  {Lot.),  by  the  head. 

Per  centum  {Lat.),  by  the  hundred. 

Per  contra  {Lat.)  contrariwise. 

Per  curiam  {Lat.),  by  the  court. 

Per  diem  {Lat.),  by  the  day. 

Perdu  {Fr.),  lost. 

Pere  de  famille  {Fr.),  father  of  a  family. 

Per  fas  et  nefas  {Lat.),  through  right  or  wrong. 
Per  gradus  {Lat),  step  by  step. 

Per  Interim  {Lat.),  in  the  meantime. 

Per  se  (Za/.),  considered  by  itself. 

Petit  {Fr.\,  small. 


Petit  coup  {Fr.),  a  small  domino  or  mask. 

Petitio  principii  {Lat.),  begging  the  question. 

Petit-maitre  {Fr.)  a  fop ;  dandy. 

Peu  a  peu  {Fr.),  little  by  little. 

Peu  de  cbose  {Fr.)  a  trifle. 

Pezzo  {It.),  a  coin  ;  a  piece. 

Philippine  Terms : 

Abaci,  Manila-hemp. 

Adelantado,  a  ruler  of  high  rank. 

Aguinaldo,  a  gift.  The  Filipino  leader’s 
name  is  derived  from  this  word. 

Alcalde,  or  Alcalde  mayor,  the  mayor  or  pre¬ 
siding  officer  of  a  town. 

Anito,  an  idol. 

Areca,  a  palm  which  produces  from  200  to 
800  nuts  in  a  season.  The  natives  make 
the  narcotic  betel  from  it.  Large  quanti¬ 
ties  are  exported  and  used  in  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  a  dentifice. 

Arroba,  a  weight  of  25  pounds. 

Asuan,  an  evil  spirit  which  is  to  be  espe¬ 
cially  avoided  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  a 
child.  Even  the  most  enlightened  close 
the  windows  on  such  occasions. 

Bagsacay,  an  assagai  or  spear,  about  a  half 
inch  in  diameter,  in  use  among  the  Sulu 
Islanders. 

Bahay,  a  house. 

Balbal,  an  evil  spirit. 

Balitao,  a  popular  love  dance  among  the 
Visayas. 

Bamberos,  a  fire  company. 

Banos,  baths  or  hot  springs. 

Barong,  a  short  sword  used  in  close  combat 
by  the  Sulu  Islanders. 

Barrio,  a  ward  or  division  of  a  town, 

Bejuco,  or  Bush-rope.  It  grows  in  lengths  of 
about  100  feet  and  has  a  maximum  diam¬ 
eter  of  from  one  to  one  and  a  quarter 
inches.  It  is  of  great  pliancy  and  is  used 
as  cables  for  rafts  and  bridges.  In  smaller 
sizes  it  takes  the  place  of  nails  and  bolts. 

Beno,  a  potent  native  drink.  It  is  of  re¬ 
markable  intoxicating  properties. 

Bigaycaya,  a  doweiy^  settlement  upon  a  bride 
among  the  Tagals. 

Bolo,  or  Bohie,  a  cane-knife  or  machete,  used 
for  cutting  sugar-cane. 

Cabe9a  de  barangay,  the  officer  who  collects 
tribute  or  taxes  from  a  group  of  families. 

Caguang,  an  animal  peculiar  to  the  Philip¬ 
pines  and  so  much  resembling  both  a 
monkey  and  a  bat  that  it  has  been  called 
the  <<  monkey-faced  bat.^^ 

Calao,  a  bird  belonging  to  the  class  of  horn- 
bills. 

Camote,  a  sweet-potato. 

Campilan,  a  short,  two-handed  sword  used  by 
the  Sulu  Islanders. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


327 


Philippine  Terms. —  Continued 

Carabao,  the  black  water-buffalo,  much  used 
as  a  beast  of  burden. 

Carromata,  a  small  two-wheeled  spring-cart ; 
the  family  carriage. 

Cascoes,  the  light  draught-boats  used  for  the 
navigation  of  small  streams  and  capable 
of  carrying  enormous  loads. 

Castila,  European. 

Catapusan,  funeral  festivities  lasting  nine 
days,  the  last  of  which,  the  catapusan 
proper,  is  devoted  to  wailing,  praying, 
drinking,  and  eating. 

Chacon,  a  lizard. 

Chinelas,  flat,  heelless  slippers,  usually  worn 
without  stockings. 

Cochero,  a  driver. 

Cogon,  a  tall  jungle  grass  used  for  thatching. 

Collas,  heavy  rains  at  the  beginning  of  the 
wet  season. 

Compadre,  a  relation. 

Convento,  a  convent. 

Copra,  dried  cocoanut. 

Cueva,  a  cave. 

Dato,  a  chief  among  the  Moros. 

Dubu,  the  carved  pillar  temple  of  the  Papu¬ 
ans. 

Esposa,  a  wife. 

Fiesta,  a  feast  day  or  holy  day. 

Gente  del  monte,  people  of  the  wood ;  wood 
genii  of  Guam. 

Gobernadorcillo,  the  chief  magistrate  of  a 
commune. 

Gracias,  thanks. 

Iguana,  the  giant  lizard  which  sometimes 
attains  to  a  length  of  six  or  seven  feet. 

Ingles,  the  English. 

Islas  Filipinas,  Philippine  Islands. 

Jabul,  a  strip  of  stuff  sewn  together  at  the 
ends,  used  to  protect  the  head  from  the 
sun’s  rays.  It  is  worn  by  the  Sulu  women. 

Junta,  a  board  or  commission  of  governors. 

Juramentados,  one  sworn  to  slavery  to  his 
creditor,  among  the  Sulus.  His  only  es¬ 
cape  is  death  which  he  courts  by  entrance 
upon  a  fanatic  warfare  against  Christians 
in  comformity  with  his  oath. 

Kris,  a  sword,  either  curved  or  straight,  used 
for  cutting  or  thrusting  by  the  Sulus. 

Mestizo-Chino,  a  half-caste  Chinese. 

Molave,  a  well-known,  hard  wood,  of  a  dark 
brown  color,  and  capable  of  taking  a  high 
polish.  It  is  much  used  in  interiors.  It 
is  not  affected  by  sea-worms,  ants,  or  cli¬ 
mate. 

Monte,  a  mountain. 

Moros,  Mohammedan  fanatics. 

Muchacha,  a  girl  servant. 

Muchacho,  a  boy  servant 


Narra,  a  much-prized  wood,  used  in  the  man¬ 
ufacture  of  fine  furniture.  It  varies  in 
color  from  a  light  straw  to  a  deep  red. 
Nipa,  a  palm  which  takes  the  place  of  bam¬ 
boo.  From  its  sap  a  native  wine  is  made, 
and  its  large  leaves  are  used  for  thatching. 
Padre,  the  priest. 

Palawan,  a  species  of  yam. 

Peso,  a  Mexican  dollar,  a  value  of  fifty  cents, 
Picul,  a  weight  of  140  pounds. 

Pina,  a  fabric  woven  from  the  fibers  of  cocoa- 
nut. 

Plaza,  the  square  or  public  place  in  cities. 
Polista,  an  impressed  workman. 

Presidencia,  the  town-hall. 

Presidente,  one  of  the  chief  officers  of  a  town. 
Puanlada,  a  red  spotted  dove. 

Pueblo,  a  township  under  the  rule  of  a  chief. 
Pundita,  a  priest  among  the  Moros. 

Quilez,  a  two-wheeled  covered  cart  or  wagon. 
Salacot,  a  large,  round,  basket-like  hat. 
Salamat-po  !  Thank  you  !  (Luzon.) 
Salangane,  edible  birds’  nests. 

Santones,  religious  fanatics  who  claim  super¬ 
natural  powers  of  second  sight  and  heal¬ 
ing  diseases. 

Senora,  the  title  of  a  married  woman. 
Senorita,  the  title  or  mode  of  address  of  an 
unmarried  woman. 

Suelo,  a  sleeping-room. 

Taclobo,  a  huge  shell-fish.  The  shell  often 
attains  to  a  weight  of  200  pounds.  These 
shells  are  often  used  as  baptismal  fonts  in 
churches. 

Tribunal,  a  court-house. 

Tus-tus,  roughly-made  cigars  of  good  quality, 
from  Papua. 

Piccolo  {It.),  small. 

Pied  a  terre  {Fr.),  temporary  lodging. 

Pinxit  {Lat.),  he  painted  it. 

Pis  aller  {Fr.),  the  last  shift. 

Piu  (//.),  more. 

Plebs  {Lat.),  the  common  people. 

Pleno  jure  {Lat.),  with  full  authority. 

Poco  {It.),  a  little. 

Poco  a  poco  {It.),  little  by  little. 

Poeta  nascitur,  non  fit  {Lat.),  The  poet  is  born, 
not  made. 

Point  d’appui  {Fr.),  point  of  support ;  prop. 
Poisson  d’avril  {Fr.),  April  fool. 

Pons  asinorum  {Lat.),  the  asses’  bridge. 
Porte-chaise  {Fr.),  a  sedan  chair. 

Porte-voix  {Fr.),  a  speaking  trumpet. 
Poste-restante  {Fr.),  to  remain  until  called 
for, —  said  of  letters. 

Post  mortem  {Lat.),  after  death. 

Post  obitum  {Lat.),  after  death. 

Pour  faire  rire  {Fr.),  to  excite  laughter. 

Pour  passer  le  temps  {Fr.),  to  pass  the  time. 


32* 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Pour  prendre  cong^  to  take  leave; 

P.  P.  C. 

Preux  cEevaller  (/>.),  a  brave  knight. 

Prima  donna  (/4),  the  first  lady;  chief  female 
singer. 

Prima  facie  {Lat.'),  on  the  first  view;  upon  the 
face  of  it. 

Prime  (Lai.),  in  the  first  place. 

Pro  bono  publico  (Lat.),  for  the  public  good. 

Pro  confesso  (Lat.),  as  if  conceded. 

Pro  et  con  (Lat.),  for  and  against. 

Pro  forma  (Lat.),  as  a  matter  of  form;  for 
form’s  sake. 

Pro  bac  vice  (Lat.),  for  this  turn  or  occasion. 

Propaganda  (Lat.),  for  the  purpose  of  extend¬ 
ing  (knowledge). 

Pro  patria  (Lat.),  for  our  country. 

Pro  rata  (Lat.),  in  proportion. 

Pro  re  nata  (Lat.),  for  a  special  emergency. 

Pro  tanto  (Lat.),  for  so  much;  by  so  much. 

Protege  (Fr.),  one  protected  or  patronized  by 
another. 

Pro ’’tempore  (Lat.),  for  the  time  being;  pro 
tern. 

Q 

Quantum  (Lat.),  the  amount  or  quantity. 

Quantum  libet  (Lat.),  as  much  as  you  please. 

Quantum  sufflcit  (Lat.),  as  much  as  suffices. 

Quantum  vis  (Lat.),  as  much  as  you  will. 

Quasi  (Lat.),  as  if;  in  such  a  manner. 

Quelque  chose  (Fr.),  something. 

Quid  nunc  ?  (Lat.),  what  now  ? 

Quid  pro  quo  (Lat.),  an  equivalent;  something  ' 
in  return. 

Quien  sabe?  (Sp.),  who  knows  ? 

Qui  va  la  ?  (Fr.),  who  goes  there  ? 

Qui  Vive  ?  (Fr.),  who  goes  there  ? 

Qui  vive  (on  the),  on  the  alert. 

Quo  animo  ?  (Lat.),  with  what  intention?  to 
what  purpose  ? 

Quod  erat  demonstrandum  (Lat.),  which  was 
required  to  be  proved;  Q.  E.  D. 

Quod  erat  faciendum  (Lat.),  which  was  re¬ 
quired  to  be  done;  Q.  E.  F. 

Quod  vide  (Lat.),  which  see;  q.  v. 

Quomodo  ?  (Lat.),  how  ?  in  what  manner  ? 

Quo  vadis  ?  (Lat.),  whither  goest  thou  ? 

R 

Raison  d’etat  (Fr.),  state  reason. 

Raison  d’etre  (Fr.)  a  reason  for  existing  or 
being. 

Rara  avis  (Lat.),  a  rare  bird;  a  wonder. 

Rechauffe  (Fr.),  warmed  over;  stale. 

Re9U  (Fr.),  received. 

Reductio  ad  absurdum  (Lat.),  a  reducing  to 
an  absurdity;  proving  the  impossibility  by 
showing  the  absurdity. 


Regnant  populi  (Lat.),  The  people  rule;  — 
the  motto  of  Arkansas. 

Religieuse  (Fr.),  a  nun. 

Renaissance  (Fr.),  a  revival  —  as  of  art  or 
letters. 

Requiescat  in  pace  (Lat.),  Let  him  rest  in 
peace. 

Res  gestae  (Lat.),  things  accomplished. 

Res  judicata  (Lat.),  a  matter  already  settled. 

Respice  finem  (Lat.),  look  to  the  end. 

Respublica  (Lat.),  the  state. 

Resume  (Fr.),  an  abstract  or  summary. 

Resurgam  (Lat.),  I  shall  rise  again. 

Revenons  a  nos  moutons  (Fr.),  Let  us  return 
to  our  sheep;  let  us  return  to  our  subject. 

Robe  de  chambre  (Fr.),  a  dressing  gown. 

Ruat  caelum  (Lat.),  Let  the  heavens  fall. 

Ruse  de  guerre  (Fr.),  trick  or  stratagem  of 
war. 

Rus  in  urbe  (Lat.),  country  in  the  city. 

s 

Sal  Atticum  (Lat.),  Attic  salt;  wit. 

Salle  (Fr.),  hall  of  a  house. 

Salve  !  (Lat.),  Hail !  —  the  motto  of  Idaho. 

Sanctum  sanctorum  (Lat.),  Holy  of  holies. 

Sans  ceremonie  (Fr.),  without  ceremony. 

Sans  doute  (Fr.),  without  doubt. 

Sans  pareil  (Fr.),  unequaled. 

Sans  peine  (Fr.),  without  difficulty. 

Sans  peur  et  sans  reproche  (Fr.),  without  fear 
and  without  reproach. 

Sans  souci  (Fr.),  free  from  care. 

Sapere  aude  (Lat.),  dare  to  be  wise. 

Sartor  resartus  (Lat.),  the  tailor  mended. 

Satis  verborum  (Lat.),  enough  of  words. 

Sauve  qui  peut  (7^r.),  save  himself  w’ho  can. 

Savoir-faire (jF>.),  ability;  skill.. 

Savoir-vivre  (Fr.),  good  breeding;  refinement. 

Savon  (Fr.),  soap. 

Scire  facias  (Lat.),  cause  it  to  be  known. 

Secundum  artem  (Lat.),  according  to  rule;  in 
an  artistic  manner. 

Secundum  naturam  (Lat.),  according  to  na¬ 
ture. 

Semel  et  simul  (Lat.),  once  and  together. 

Semel  pro  semper  (Lat.),  once  for  all. 

Semper  fidelis  (Lat.),  always  faithful. 

Semper  idem  (Lat.),  always  the  same. 

Semper  paratus  (Lat.),  always  ready. 

Sic  semper  tyrannis  (Lat.),  Ever  thus  to  ty¬ 
rants  ; — the  motto  of  Virginia. 

Sic  transit  gloria  mundi  (Lat.),  So  passes 
away  earthly  glory. 

Similia  similibus  curantur  (Lat.),  Like  cures 
like. 

Si  monumentum  requiris,  circumspice  (Lat.), 
If  you  search  his  monument,  look  about  you; 
—  Sir  Christopher  Wren’s  epitaph  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  London. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


329 


Sine  cura  (Lat.),  with  care. 

Sine  die  (Lat.),  without  appointing  a  day  for  a 
next  meeting. 

Sine  qua  non  {Lat.'),  without  which  not;  an  in¬ 
dispensable  condition. 

Si  quseris  peninsulam  amcenam,  circumspice 
{Lat.),  If  thou  seekest  a  beautiful  peninsula, 
look  about  you  ; —  the  motto  of  Michigan. 

Soubrette  {Fr.),  an  intriguing  woman. 

Soupgon  {Fr.),  suspicion. 

Sponte  sua  {Lat.),  of  his  own  accord. 

Stet  {Lat.),  let  it  stand. 

Sturm  und  Drang  {Ger.),  storm  and  stress. 

Suaviter  in  modo,  fortiter  in  re  {Lat.),  gentle 
in  manner,  resolute  in  action. 

Sub  judice  {Lat.),  under  consideration. 

Sub  rosa  {Lat.),  under  the  rose,  secretly. 

Sui  generis  {Lat.),  of  his  own  kind. 

Summum  bonum  {Lat.),  the  highest  good. 

T 

Tableau  vivant  {Fr.),  living  pictures. 

Taille  {Fr.),  form;  stature;  shape. 

Tant  mieux  {Fr.),  so  much  the  better. 

Tant  pis  {Fr  ),  so  much  the  worse. 
Tempusfugit  {Lat.),  time  flies. 

Terracotta  (A".), baked  earth. 

Terra  firma  {Lat.),  solid  earth. 

Terra  incognita  {Lat.),  an  unknown  land. 

To  Kokbr  (To  kalon)  {Gr.),  the  beautiful;  the 
chief  good. 

To  TzpSTTOT  (To  prepon)  {Gr.),  the  proper;  the 
fitting;  the  becoming. 

Totidem  verbis  {Lat.),  in  so  many  words. 
Toujours  pret  {Fr.),  always  ready. 

Tour  de  force  {Fr.),  a  feat  of  strength. 
Tout-a-fait  {Fr.),  entirely;  wholly. 
Tout-a-l’beure  (i^r.),  instantly. 

Tout  au  contraire  {Fr.),  quite  the  contrary. 
Tout  a  vous  {Fr.),  wholly  yours. 

Tout  de  meme  {Fr.),  quite  the  same. 

Tout  de  suite  {Fr.),  immediately. 

Tout  ensemble  {Fr.),  the  whole  taken  together; 

the  effect  of  the  whole. 

Tristesse  {Fr.),  sorrow. 

Trottoir  {Fr.),  sidewalk. 

u 

Ubique  {Lat.),  everywhere. 

Ubi  supra  {Lat.),  where  mentioned  above. 
Ultima  Tbule  {Lat.),  the  farthest  boundary. 
Ultimatum  {Lat.),  the  last  condition. 

Ultra  vires  {Lat.),  beyond  the  power. 

Una  voce  {Lat.),  with  one  voice;  unanimously. 
Uno  animo  {Lat.),  with  one  mind. 

Ut  infra  {Lat.),  as  below. 

Ut  supra  {Lat.),  as  above. 

V 

Vade  in  pace  {Lat.),  go  in  peace. 


Vade  mecum  {Lat.),  go  with  me;  a  constant 
companion. 

VsB  victis  {Lat.),  woe  to  the  conquered. 

Vale  {Lat.),  farewell. 

Valet  de  cbambre  {Fr.),  an  attendant. 

Vaurien  {Fr.),  a  good-for-nothing. 

Veni,  vidi,  vici  {Lat),  I  came,  I  saw,  I  con¬ 
quered. 

Verbatim  et  literatim  {L^ow  Lat.),  Word  for 
word  and  letter  for  letter. 

Verbum  sat  sapienti  (Z<a:A),  A  word  to  the  wise 
is  sufficient. 

Veritas  prsevalebit  {Lat.),  Truth  will  prevail. 

Veritas  vincit  {Lat.),  Truth  conquers. 

Vermoulu  {Fr.),  worm-eaten. 

Versus  {Lat.),  against;  vs. 

Via  {Lai.),  by  way  of. 

Via  media  {Lat),  a  middle  course. 

Vice  {Lat.),  in  the  place  of. 

Vice  versa  {Lat),  the  terms  having  been 
changed. 

Videlicet  {Lat),  to-wit;  namely;  viz. 

Videtur  {Lat.),  it  appears. 

Videut  supra  {Lat),  see  as  stated  above. 

Vi  et  armis  {Lat),  hy  force  of  arms. 

Vif  {Fr.),  lively;  active;  vivid. 

Vin  {Fr.),  wine. 

Vinculum  matrimonii  {Lat),  the  bond  of  mar¬ 
riage. 

Vis  atergo  {Lat.),  a  propelling  force  from  be¬ 
hind. 

Vis  a  vis  {Fr.),  facing;  opposite. 

Vitfa  brevis,  ars  longa  {Lat),  Life  is  short,  art 
is  long. 

Vivat!  {Lat),  Long  live! 

Vivat  regina!  {Lat),  Long  live  the  queen! 

Vivat  respublica!  {Lat),  Long  live  the  re¬ 
public! 

Vivat  rex!  {Lat),  Long  live  the  king! 

Viva  voce  {Lat),  with  the  living  voice;  orally; 
by  word  of  ^outh. 

Vive  la  republique!  {Fr.),  Long  live  the  re¬ 
public! 

Vive  la  bagatelle!  {Fr.),  Long  life  to  trifles! 

Vive  I’empereur!  {Fr.),  Long  live  the  em¬ 
peror! 

Vive  le  roi!  {Fr.),  Long  live  the  king! 

Voila  {Fr.),  behold;  there  is,  or  there  are. 

Voila  tout  {Fr.),  that’s  all. 

Vox,  et  praeterea  nihil  {Lat),  a  voice,  and 
nothing  else;  sound  without  sense. 

Vox  populi,  vox  Dei  {Lat.),  The  voice  of  the 
people  is  the  voice  of  God. 

z 

Zeitgeist  {Ger.),  The  spirit  of  the  age. 

Zonam  perdidit  {Lat),  he  has  lost  his  purse; 
he  is  in  needy  circumstances. 


Wreckage. —  Merchandise  saved  from  a  wreck. 


330 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY,  ECONOMIC 
PROGRESS  OF  THE 


Difference  in  Its  Development  from  All  Preceding  Centuries  —  Changes  in 
Population  in  Europe  and  in  the  United  States  —  The  Creation  of  Rail¬ 
ways  AND  THE  Growth  of  Steam  Manufacturing  Power  —  How  Low  Freight 
Rates  Unified  the  World  Market  and  Promoted  Universal  Competition  — 
Development  of  Credit  and  Banking  Power  —  Volume  of  the  World’s  Com¬ 
merce —  Progress  of  the  Undeveloped  Countries. 

The  nineteenth  century  witnessed  a  more  striking  growth  in  wealth, 
and  in  the  material  comforts  of  civilization,  than  had  any  pre¬ 
ceding  century  in  the  history  of  the  world.  This  statement  can 
be  made  without  qualification,  because  of  the  new  power  brought  to 
the  aid  of  men  by  machine  production.  The  application  of  steam 
power  and  electricity,  to  manufacturing  and  transportation,  has  rev¬ 
olutionized  the  organization  of  industry,  brought  together  distant 
parts  of  the  world,  and  so  increased  the  producing  power  of  the 
individual  arm,  that  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  members  of 
the  community  are  now  able  to  produce  its  food  supply,  clothing,  and 
shelter,  and  a  larger  proportion  than  ever  before  are  released  from 
these  employments  for  the  higher  ones  of  luxury,  literature,  art,  and 
ministry  to  the  finest  tastes.  The  changes  in  methods  of  business,  in 
wealth,  and  in  general  conditions,  which  have  been  thus  brought 
about,  are  revealed  chiefly  through  the  creation  of  mills  and  fac¬ 
tories,  through  the  increase  in  their  output  and  the  increased  equip¬ 
ment  for  carrying  this  output,  by  rail  and  steamship,  to  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  through  the  great  volume  of  commerce,  banking 
credits,  and  saved  capital,  among  every  civilized  people.  These 
changes  in  methods  of  production  and  exchange  have  caused  not 
merely  changes  in  the  volume  of  things  produced  and  in  the  rapidity 
of  their  exchange,  but  have  tended  to  wipe  out  the  distinctions  be¬ 
tween  markets,  and  to  reduce  competition  in  the  great  staple  articles 
of  agriculture  and  manufactures  to  competition  in  a  single  world 
market,  where  prices  and  conditions  affecting  supply  and  demand  are 
flashed  around  the  world  in  an  instant  by  the  telegraph,  the  tele¬ 
phone,  and  the  ocean  cable. 

The  world  is  now  many  times  richer  in  the  aggregate  than  it  was 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  many  times  richer 
in  the  average  wealth  of  the  individual.  Population  has  increased 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


331 


with  rapid  strides,  and  to  an  extent  which  would  not  have  been  pos¬ 
sible  under  the  old  conditions  of  food  production  and  transportation. 
The  world  is  no  longer  shut  off  in  isolated  communities,  which  are 
compelled  to  raise  their  own  food  and  to  make  their  own  clothing, 
and  which  suffer  famine  and  starvation  if  their  local  supplies  fail. 
Each  civilized  people,  in  time  of  peace,  can  now  count  upon  the  re¬ 
sources  of  all  other  peoples  to  supply  its  needs,  with  no  greater  disturb¬ 
ance  in  case  of  crop  failure  or  emergency  than  the  fluctuations  of  securi¬ 
ties  on  the  stock  market  or  the  transfer  of  gold  and  credits  between 
great  banking  houses.  Populations  have  sprung  up  in  Great  Britain, 
Belgium,  and  the  large  cities  of  other  countries,  which  draw  their 
food  supplies  from  other  lands,  or  over  seas.  They  never  expect, 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  to  obtain  these  supplies  entirely 
at  home,  because  they  have  found  that  under  modern  conditions  they 
can  more  profitably  exchange  for  the  food  and  raw  materials  of  the 
less  advanced  countries,  the  finished  products  of  their  mills  and  work¬ 
shops.  All  this  became  possible  upon  a  large  scale  only  within  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  population  of  the  European 
countries  more  than  doubled  within  the  century,  and  has  shifted  the 
balance  of  political  power.  The  growth  of  Europe  in  population  is 
shown  in  the  following  table:  — 


European  Populations  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 


Beginning 

End 

Increase 

Per  Cent. 
Increase 

United  Kingdom . 

15,668,993 

40,500,000 

24,831,007 

159 

France  . 

27,349,003 

39,000,000 

12,650,997 

46 

Germany . 

22,000,000 

53,900,000 

31,900,000 

145 

Russia  in  Europe . 

40,170,000 

110,000,000 

69,830,000 

174 

Austria-Hungary . 

18,000,000 

43,700,000 

25,700,000 

143 

Italy . 

17,380,000 

34,000,000 

16,620,000 

95 

Spain . 

10,351,000 

19,000,000 

8,649,000 

835 

Portugal . 

3,630,000 

5,500,000 

1,870,000 

52 

Belgium . 

3,780,000 

6,675,000 

2,895,000 

76 

Holland . 

2,760,000 

5, 100,000 

2,340,000 

84 

Sweden . . 

2,159,000 

5,000,000 

2,841,000 

131 

Norway . 

884,000 

2,150,000 

1,266,000 

143 

Denmark . 

926,000 

2,350,000 

1,424,000 

154 

Switzerland . 

2,392,740 

3,150,000 

757,260 

32 

163,450,736 

370,025,000 

206,574,264 

126 

These  figures  illustrate  the  comparatively  small  populations  which 
fought  out  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  the  differences  in  political  in- 


332 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


fluence  which  have  come  with  changes  in  the  numbers  of  the  people. 
France  in  1800  was  the  chief  power  in  Europe.  Austria  and  Great 
Britain  combined  surpassed  her  but  little  in  population.  How  recent 
changes  in  population  have  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  shifting  of 
the  axis  of  political  power,  is  thus  described  by  the  eminent  English 
statistician,  Mr.  Robert  Giffen:*  — 

<<  These  facts  correspond  very  closely  with  the  transfer  of  military  preponderance  on  the 
continent  from  France  to  Germany,  and  with  the  increasing  prominence  of  Russia,  which  would 
probably  be  much  more  felt  but  for  the  simultaneous  growth  of  Germany.  They  also  explain 
why  it  is  that  the  United  Kingdom,  with  an  economic  and  social  development  resembling  that 
of  France,  in  many  respects,  has  fallen  less  behind  in  the  political  race;  why  its  relative  posi¬ 
tion  among  European  powers,  though  not  what  it  was  fifty  years  ago,  is  less  weakened  than 
that  of  France  has  been.  Fifty  years  ago  it  was  the  leader  among  powers  which  were  occupied 
in  restraining  France,  singly  a  greater  power  than  any.  Now  it  is  about  equal  in  numbers  to 
France,  although  its  whole  position  is  changed  by  the  fact  that  no  power,  not  even  Germany, 
preponderates  to  the  same  extent  as  France  once  did.^^ 

How  the  means  have  been  found  for  maintaining  these  great  pop¬ 
ulations  in  comfort  —  and  even  in  luxury,  when  contrasted  with  the 
meager  conditions  of  a  century  or  two  ago  —  is  the  story  of  machine 
production  through  the  use  of  steam,  and  of  the  myriad  of  inventions 
that  have  followed  in  its  wake.  The  increase  in  the  volume  of  com¬ 
merce  has  been  the  striking  visible  proof  of  the  increased  producing  and 
consuming  power  of  the  world.  The  entire  population  of  the  earth  in 
1800  was  estimated,  by  careful  students,  at  640,000,000  souls.  The 
combined  foreign  commerce  of  all  countries  was  estimated  at  $1,479,- 
000,000,  or  $2.31  per  capita.  The  population  increased  about  two- 
thirds  up  to  i860,  and  commerce  had  risen  only  to  $4,049,000,000,  or 
less  than  three  times  the  amount  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 
The  second  half  of  the  century  witnessed  an  increase  of  less  than  half 
in  the  population  of  the  world  but  a  nearly  fivefold  increase  in  the 
volume  of  commerce,  and  an  increase  in  its  amount  per  capita  from 
$3.76  to  $13.27.  These  comparisons  are  forcibly  set  forth  by  the  fol¬ 
lowing  table :  — 


Year 

Population 

Aggregate 

Commerce 

Commerce 

PerCapita 

1800 . 

640,000,000 

1 1, 4  79, 000, 000 

$2.31 

1850 . 

1,075,000,000 

4,049,000,000 

3-76 

1870 . 

1,310,000,000 

10,663,000,000 

8.14 

1898 . 

1,500,000,000 

19,915,000,000 

13.27 

These  figures  show  that  the  most  rapid  upward  movement  in  the 
volume  of  commerce  occurred  after  i860,  and  even  after  1870.  The 


*  “  Essays  in  Finance,  “  Second  Series,  p.  286. 


I 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  333 

closing  generation  of  the  century  witnessed  a  production  of  machine- 
made  goods,  and  an  accumulation  of  capital,  far  exceeding  those  of  any 
earlier  period.  The  earlier  years  of  the  century  were  largely  em¬ 
ployed  in’  perfecting  the  new  inventions  and  in  supplying  the  manu¬ 
facturing  nations  with  the  full  equipment  for  meeting  the  new 
demands.  The  most  important  elements  of  this  new  equipment  were  the 
practical  application  of  steam  power  to  manufacturing,  a  network  of 
railways,  and  a  fleet  of  ocean  steamers,  sufficient  to  link  together  the 
world’s  chief  markets;  a  sufficient  fund  of  saved  capital  for  creating 
these  new  engines  of  production  and  exchange  without  trenching  upon 
the  ordinary  resources  of  civilized  communities;  an  organization  of 
credit  that  would  give  this  saved  capital  a  transferable  and  loanable 
form ;  and,  finally,  a  freedom  for  the  transfer  of  goods  and  capital  be¬ 
tween  nations  which  would  permit  both  to  compete  freely  in  the 
world’s  markets.  The  development  of  these  various  factors  of  modern 
economic  life  has  proceeded  gradually  along  similar,  but  not  exactly 
parallel,  lines.  The  capital  necessary  for  the  new  machinery  was  scarce 
in  the  early  years  of  the  century,  and  when  railroad  building  began 
on  a  large  scale,  a  severe  strain  was  put  upon  the  resources  of  even 
the  richest  nations.  But  every  successful  enterprise  that  involved  a 
larger  net  product  from  a  given  number  of  hands,  increased  the  ca¬ 
pacity  for  saving  and  the  capital  available  for  creating  new  instru¬ 
ments  of  production.  Undue  absorption  of  capital  in  a  given  direction 
caused  temporary  periods  of  overproduction,  glutted  markets,  and  stag¬ 
nant  trade;  but  every  new  crisis  of  this  sort  was  followed  by  a  new 
outburst  of  industrial  activity  and  by  a  more  rapid  production  of 
wealth  than  any  which  had  gone  before.  The  character  of  these  great 
forces  operating  upon  the  development  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
some  of  the  results  that  they  have  produced,  it  is  the  purpose  of  this 
chapter  to  set  forth. 

One  of  the  most  efficient  weapons  of  the  new  era  was  the  power 
of  steam.  Steam  first  became  a  serious  factor  in  production  near  the 
middle  of  the  century,  but  in  1850  it  still  amounted  to  less  than  four 
million  effective  horse  power.  This  capacity  was  multiplied  more  than 
fourteen  times  within  the  half  century  that  followed.  Europe  in¬ 
creased  her  equipment  from  2,240,000  effective  horse  power,  in  1850, 
to  36,645,000,  in  1895;  United  States,  from  1,680,000  to  16,940,- 
000;  and  the  English  colonies  from  70,000  to  1,995,000,  with  the  re¬ 
sult  of  swelling  the  total  for  the  world  from  3,990,000  horse  power,  in 
1850,  to  55,580,000  horse  power,  in  1895.  France,  where  these 

figures  are  carefully  kept,  the  returns  for  1896  showed  the  existence  of 
67,347  stationary  machines  engaged  in  industry  alone,  with  the  com¬ 
bined  horse  power  of  1,262,688.  The  increase  since  1850  was  more 


334 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


than  one  thousand  per  cent.,  and  even  within  five  years  was  more 
than  twenty-five  per  cent.  The  increased  power  attained  by  the  hu¬ 
man  race  through  this  new  engine  of  production  was  set  forth  for  the 
United  States  as  long  ago  as  1886,  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
report  by  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Labor:  — 

The  mechanical  industries  of  the  United  States  are  carried  on  by  steam,  and  water,  power 
representing,  in  round  numbers,  3,500,000  horse  power,  each  horse  power  equaling  the  muscular 
labor  of  six  men;  that  is  to  say,  if  men  were  employed  to  furnish  the  power  to  carry  on  the  in¬ 
dustries  of  this  country,  it  would  require  21,000,000  men,  and  21,000,000  men  represent  a  popula¬ 
tion,  according  to  the  ratio  of  the  census  of  1880,  of  105,000,000.  The  industries  are  now  carried 
on  by  4,000,000  persons,  in  round  numbers,  representing  a  population  of  20,000,000  only.  There 
are  in  the  United  States  28,600  locomotives.  To  do  the  work  of  these  locomotives  upon  the  ex¬ 
isting  common  roads  of  the  country,  and  the  equivalent  of  that  which  has  been  done  upon  the 
railroads  the  past  year,  would  require,  in  round  numbers,  54,000,000  horses  and  13,500,000  men. 
The  work  is  now  done,  so  far  as  men  are  concerned,  by  250,000,  representing  a  population  of 
1,250,000,  while  the  population  required  for  the  number  of  men  necessary  to  do  the  work  with 
horses  would  be  67,500,000.  To  do  the  work,  then,  now  accomplished  by  power,  and  power 
machinery,  in  our  mechanical  industries  and  upon  our  railroads,  would  require  men  representing 
a  population  of  172,500,000,  in  addition  to  the  present  population  of  the  country  of  55,000,000,  or 
a  total  population,  with  hand  processes  and  with  horse  power,  of  227,500,000,  which  population 
would  be  obliged  to  subsist  on  present  means.  In  an  economic  view,  the  cost  to  the  country 
would  be  enormous.  The  present  cost  of  operating  the  railroads  of  the  country  with  steam 
power  is,  in  round  numbers,  ^502,600,000  per  annum;  but  to  carry  on  the  same  amount  of  work 
with  men  and  horses  would  cost  the  country  1,308,500,000.  ' 

The  application  of  the  power  of  steam  to  transportation  has  been 
a  necessary  complement  of  its  application  to  production.  Manufac¬ 
turing  upon  a  large  scale,  for  a  wide  market,  would  have  been  com¬ 
paratively  useless,  especially  for  bulky  articles,  if  the  means  had  not 
been  created  for  carrying  manufactured  products  at  low  rates  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The  infiuence  of  railway  construction 
upon  the  conditions  of  industry  has  gone  far  beyond  the  mere  cheap¬ 
ening  of  transportation  and  the  increase  in  productive  power.  It  has 
worked  a  change  in  social  relations  among  producing  nations  because 
it  has  broken  down  the  barriers  between  markets.  It  is  this  fact  — 
bringing  the  producers  of  widely  separated  points  into  competition  with 
each  other  in  common  markets  —  that  has  had  much  to  do  with  increas¬ 
ing  the  severity  of  this  competition,  and  with  causing  the  creation  of 
trust  combinations  for  dividing  and  controlling  markets.  There  was 
a  time  when  the  individual  manufacturer  had  a  practical  monopoly  of 
the  market  within  a  certain  distance  from  his  mill,  or  at  least  had  no 
other  competitors  than  those  of  the  same  locality.  The  village  cob¬ 
bler,  the  local  tailor,  and  weaver,  in  an  English  country  town,  ran  but 
small  risk  of  competition  from  London  or  from  the  other  great  towns, 
because  of  the  time  required  to  reach  them  and  the  cost  and  delay  of 
shipping  goods. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


335 


The  change  which  has  brought  markets  together  has  come  about 
by  degrees.  The  charges  for  railway  carriage  have  been  reduced, 
from  decade  to  decade,  with  the  improvement  in  railway  construction, 
through  economy  in  the  use  of  fuel,  derived  from  improvement  in 
machinery,  and  through  the  gradual  cheapening  of  most  of  the  mate¬ 
rials  of  construction.  A  recent  article  in  the  London  Contemporary 
Review  estimated  the  combined  carrying  power  of  ships  and  rail¬ 
roads  at  26,440,000  tons,  in  i860,  and  83,340,000  tons,  in  1892.  It 
was  calculated  that  in  the  year  1850  the  cost  of  land  carriage  for 
goods  in  Europe  was  about  |io  a  ton,  for  one  hundred  kilometers 
(62  miles),  amounting  to  about  sixteen  cents  a  mile.  The  reduction 
in  these  charges  in  recent  years  was  set  forth  in  a  forcible  manner 
by  Professor  Henry  T.  Newcomb,  in  a  report  to  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  in  1898,  in  which  he  showed  that  the  average  revenue 
from  freight,  per  ton,  per  mile  on  the  railways  of  the  United  States, 
fell  from  1.613  cents  in  1873  to  0.806  cent  in  1896, — a  'fall  of  one- 
half  the  original  rate  within  less  than  a  generation. 

These  reductions  in  the  cost  of  transportation  have  resulted  in  a 
greatly  increased  volume  of  commerce.  The  freight  traffic  on  the 
railways  of  the  world  is  estimated  to  have  trebled  between  1870  and 
1892,  rising  from  562,000,000  tons  in  the  former  year  to  1,746,000,000 
tons  in  the  latter  year.  Europe  absorbed  902,000,000  tons  of  the  later 
traffic,  the  United  States  749,000,000  tons,  and  other  countries  95,- 
000,000  tons.  The  estimated  railway  equipment  of  the  world  in  1896 
was  about  445,000  miles  (715,000  kilometers),  representing  a  cost  of 
nearly  thirty-three  thousand  millions  of  dollars  (170,000,000,000  francs).* 
How  recent  has  been  this  railway  development  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  more  than  half  of  the  present  railway  mileage  of  the  United 
States  has  been  constructed  sinee  1880.  The  mileage  of  1870  was 
only  49,160  miles,  which  rose  in  1880  to  87,724  miles.  The  next  ten 
years  brought  up  the  construction  to  163,597  miles,  since  when  con¬ 
struction  has  been  less  rapid,  because  the  great  centers  of  trade  and 
production  were  connected  and  equipped  with  railway  construction. 
The  mileage  of  1900  was  about  190,000.  In  Franee,  the  length  of 
railways  in  operation,  exclusive  of  private  lines  and  tramways,  rose 
from  17,221  kilometers,  in  1872,  to  37,739  kilometers  in  1900.  In  Rus¬ 
sia,  within  the  short  period  from  1887  to  1900  the  mileage  of  the  state 
railways  alone,  not  ineluding  the  private  lines,  rose  from  2,928  to 
20,346  miles.  In  the  whole  of  Europe,  according  to  the  editor  of 
L’Economiste  Europeen,^^  the  aggregate  railway  equipment  in  opera¬ 
tion  increased  from  134,591  kilometers,  on  January  i,  1875,  to  269,743 


* "  Dictionnaire  du  Commerce,  de  1’ Industrie  et  de  la  Banque,  ”  I.,  p.  829. 


33^  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

kilometers  (165,000  miles),  on  December  31,  1898.  The  latest  figures 
of  railway  construction  outside  Europe  and  the  United  States  indicate 
a  total  of  about  93,000  miles,  where  in  1850  scarcely  a  mile  of  road 
existed,  and  where  even  in  1870  there  were  less  than  12,000  miles. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  producing  and  exchanging  power  has 
been  enormously  increased  by  this  equipment  with  the  means  of 
transportation,  and  that  the  world,  from  being  separated  into  isolated 
local  markets,  has  become  a  single  great  market,  in  which  the  staple 
products  of  industry  compete  with  each  other  upon  nearly  equal 
terms,  whether  originating  in  the  mills  of  England,  the  pioneer  of 
manufactures,  in  the  shops  and  homes  of  France,  and  Germany,  in 
the  new  factories  of  the  United  States,  with  their  modern  machinery, 
or  in  the  still  younger  establishments  of  China,  and  Japan.  It  was 
estimated  in  a  recent  article  in  the  French  economic  periodical,  the 
Journal  des  Economistes,  that  since  1850  a  saving  in  the  transporta¬ 
tion  of  commodities  has  been  effected  by  means  of  railways,  amount¬ 
ing  to  12  per  cent,  of  their  price;  so  that  without  loss  to  any  one, 
and  without  regard  to  economies  in  production,  the  necessaries  of  life 
can  be  delivered  in  any  quarter  of  the  world  reached  by  railway 
traffic,  at  one-eighth  less  than  would  have  been  possible  half  a  cen¬ 
tury  ago. 

The  production  and  useful  distribution  of  the  great  staples  of 
modern  manufacture,  coal  and  iron,  has  become  possible  with  the  ex¬ 
tension  of  railway  traffic.  The  entire  production  of  iron  in  the  world 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  reckoned  by  Mr.  James 
M.  Swank  at  825,000  long  tons,  and  in  1850,  as  4,750,000  tons.  The 
amount  rose  in  1880  to  17,950,000  tons,  in  1890  to  27,157,000  tons, 
and  in  1899  to  39,410,000  tons,  of  which  the  United  States  made 
34.56  per  cent.  The  production  of  steel  throughout  the  world  in 
1878  was  3,021,000  long  tons.  Of  this  large  product,  which  multi¬ 
plied  by  800  per  cent,  within  21  years,  the  United  States  made  10,- 
^39jS57  tons,  or  39.25  per  cent.  The  price  of  steel  rails  per  ton  in 
Pennsylvania  mills  was  $158.50  in  1868,  and  $67.50  in  1880,  but  fell  in 
1890  to  $31.75  and  in  1898  to  $17.62. 

The  efficiency  of  railways  and  steamships  in  placing  at  the  com¬ 
mand  of  civilized  communities  food  supplies  and  other  necessaries, 
has  steadily  increased  since  the  carrying  system  of  the  world  ap¬ 
proached  completion.  Agricultural  production  has  been  stimulated, 
and  farming  upon  a  large  scale  has  become  possible  because  o*f  the 
reduction  of  railway  charges.  The  number  of  farms  in  the  United 
States  increased  215  per  cent,  from  1850  to  1890,  or  from  1,449,073 
to  4,564,641,  and  their  total  improved  acreage  increased  by  216.2  per 
cent.,  or  from  113,032,614  acres  to  357,616,755  acres.  The  exports 


BUSINESS  AND  COMIMERCE 


337 


of  wheat  from  the  United  States,  which  were  only  12,646,941  bushels, 
including  flour,  in  1866,  rose  to  186,321,514  bushels  in  1880,  and  to 
222,694,920  bushels  in  1898.  The  average  price  on  the  farm,  which 
was  152.7  cents  in  1876,  fell  to  95.1  cents  in  1880  and  to  58.2  cents 
in  1898.  This  fall  in  price,  however,  due  partly  to  improved  farm¬ 
ing  machinery  and  implements,  was  only  partly  borne  by  the  farmer. 
The  decline  in  the  cost  of  carriage  of  wheat  has  been  a  vital  element. 
The  freight  rate  per  bushel  from  Chicago  to  New  York  was  15.95 
cents  in  1867,  and  one  bushel  in  every  5.77  bushels  was  absorbed  by 
the  cost  of  carriage.  The  conditions  of  1880  showed  a  reduction  in 
the  price  of  carriage  to  12.27  cents,  and  one  bushel  at  the  price  then 
ruling,  paid  the  cost  of  carrying  10.19  bushels.  The  conditions  of 
1890  showed  that  freight  rates  had  fallen  to  5.86  cents  per  bushel 
and  that  14.16  bushels  were  carried  for  the  cost  of  one  bushel,  at  the 
low  price  of  83  cents  then  prevailing.  The  conditions  of  1897  showed 
a  further  fall  in  the  freight  rate  from  Chicago  to  New  York  to  4.35 
cents  per  bushel,  and  17.24  bushels  were  carried  to  the  seaboard  for 

the  price  of  one,  even  when  that  price  had  fallen  to  75  cents  per 

bushel. 

Thus,  the  great  reduction  in  the  price  of  farm  products  for  export 
has  been  due  in  large  measure  to  the  increased  efficiency  of  trans¬ 
portation  by  rail,  and  the  fall  in  price  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean 

has  been  due  in  nearly  equal  degree  to  the  increased  efficiency  of 

transportation  by  sea.  The  mass  of  consuming  laborers,  therefore,  in 
the  great  manufacturing  countries  of  Europe,  have  profited  by  their 
ability  to  obtain  a  much  larger  supply  of  food  for  a  given  product  of 
their  own  labor  than  ever  before.  What  has  been  set  forth  in  regard 
to  wheat  is  true  of  other  staple  products.  Anthracite  coal,  which  cost 
$3.92  per  ton  at  Philadelphia  in  1869,  was  then  carried  200  miles  for 
the  price  of  one  ton.  The  price  in  1880  was  $4.53,  but  the  fall  in 
freight  rates  made  it  possible  to  carry  a  ton  284  miles  for  an  amount 
equal  to  its  price.  Freight  rates  fell  from  1.746  cents  per  ton,  per 
mile,  in  1869,  to  1.426  cents  per  ton,  per  mile,  in  1880,  and  to  0.863 
cent  per  ton,  per  mile,  in  1890,  when  the  price  of  one  ton  represented 
its  carriage  for  406  miles.  This  distance  had  further  risen  in  1897,  at 
a  freight  rate  of  0.712  cent  per  ton,  per  mile,  to  439  miles.  The  fall 
in  freight  rates  would  stand  out  still  more  conspicuously  if  it  had  not 
been  accompanied  by  a  fall  in  the  price  of  coal  to  $3.50  per  ton  in 
1897,  which  diminished  by  more  than  one-fifth  the  sum  to  be  divided 
by  the  average  charge  per  ton  for  freight. 

The  great  equipment  of  machine  production  and  carriage  with 
which  the  world  was  dowered  in  the  nineteenth  century,  called  for 

great  amounts  of  capital,  for  the  means  of  gathering  up  the  scattered 
13—22 


33^ 


BtJStNESS  AKD  COMMERCE 


capitals  of  individuals  into  common  funds,  and  for  a  ready  and  effi¬ 
cient  means  of  transferring  this  capital.  These  means  were  found  in 
the  organization  of  banking,  credit,  foreign  exchange,  clearings,  and 
stock  companies.  The  scanty  supplies  of  metallic  money  available  in 
the  civilized  world  in  1800  would  have  been  pitifully  inadequate  to 
transact  the  great  business  of  the  closing  decades  of  the  century. 
Even  the  increase  in  these  .  supplies,  which  raised  the  average  gold 
production  o.f  the  world  from  $16,000,000  per  year  for  the  first  half 
of  the  century  to  $300,000,000  in  its  closing  years,  would  have  been 
insufficient  to  carry  on  modern  business  without  the  extension  of  the 
mechanism  of  credit.  This  mechanism,  in  the  form  of  organized  bank¬ 
ing  and  the  issue  of  circulating  paper  money,  was  hardly  known  out¬ 
side  of  London  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  old 
specie  banks  had  been  destroyed,  the  Bank  of  France  was  about  to  be 
organized,  and  the  limited  circulation  of  the  Bank  of  Vienna  was  un¬ 
der  suspicion  because  of  the  counterfeiting  of  its  notes  by  Napoleon, 
The  Bank  of  France  was  the  oldest  of  the  central  banks  of  the  Euro- 
pean  continent,  and  it  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the  century  that 
similar  institutions  spread  in  the  other  countries  of  Europe.  Belgium 
was  dowered  with  a  national  bank  in  1850;  banks  sprang  up  in  Spain,  in 
Italy,  in  the  states  of  Switzerland,  and  all  over  Germany;  but  it  was 
not  until  i860  that  the  Bank  of  Russia  was  put  upon  a  firm  basis,  and 
not  until  1875  that  the  Imperial  Bank  of  Germany  succeeded  the  Bank 
of  Prussia  and  established  a  uniform  note  circulation  for  the  new 
German  Empire.  The  money  supply  of  the  world,  estimated  in  1800 
at  $2,840,000,000,  had  risen  at  the  beginning  of  1900  to  $i  1,600, 000,- 
000,  of  which  $4,841,000,000  was  in  gold.  The  gold  money  of  the 
world  was  estimated  for  the  leading  countries  at  only  $1,209,800,000 
in  1873  $3,901,900,000  in  1893.  The  total  stock  of  money  in¬ 

creased  more  than  100  per  cent,  within  the  generation  ending  with 
1900,  and  the  gold  basis  upon  which  it  rested  was  multiplied  by  four. 

The  banking  power  of  the  leading  commercial  countries  is 
even  greater  than  is  indicated  by  these  statistics  of  the  supply 
of  coin  and  paper  money.  The  European  banks  of  issue  increased 
their  deposit  accounts  from  2,314,000,000  francs  at  the  close  of 
1875,  to  9,321,000,000  francs  ($1,800,000,000)  at  the  close  of 
1899,  while  their  note  circulation  increased  from  9,699,000,000 
francs  to  14,992,000,000  francs  ($2,900,000,000.)  The  banks  of 
Great  Britain  alone  showed  deposits  in  January,  1900,  of  about 
^870,000,000  ($4,230,000,000).  These  figures,  moreover,  are  inde¬ 

pendent  of  the  colonial  banks  with  London  offices,  and  of  the  banks 
that  are  nominally  foreign,  but  that  have  London  offices  and  that  are 
chiefly  owned  by  Englishmen.  These  classes  of  British  banks  had  de- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


339 


posits  at  the  close  of  1899  amounting  to  about  ^234,000,000,  making 
the  total  deposits  in  British  banks,  scattered  over  Australia  and  other 
British  dependencies,  about  100,000,000  ($5,500,000,000).  The 

United  States  is  an  equally  large  contributor  to  the  banking  re¬ 
sources  of  the  world.  The  combined  deposits  of  all  the  banks  of  the 
United  States  was  given  by  the  Comptroller,  on  or  about  June  30,  1900, 
as  $8,513,030,125  and  the  combined  banking  power,  including  capital 
and  surplus,  as  $9,146,017,917.  This  afforded  an  average  banking 
power  per  capita,  in  the  United  States,  of  $118.42,  and  showed  a  great 
increase  within  a  few  years.  The  banking  power  represented  by  cor¬ 
responding  figures  as  recently  as  1895,  was  only  $6,703,544,084,  or 
$95.83  per  capita.  The  gross  increase,  therefore,  in  five  years, 
amounted  to  more  than  35  per  cent. 

The  banking  power  of  the  entire  world  was  estimated  by  Mr.  Mul- 
hall,  the  English  statistician,  at  $1,540,000,000  in  1840,  but  it  rose,  in 
1890,  to  about  $15,000,000,000.  The  increase  within  the  next  ten 
years,  according  to  an  estimate  by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  of 
the  United  States,  was  more  than  67  per  cent.,  and  this  carried  the 
world’s  credits,  and  the  money  upon  which  they  were  based,  to 
;^5, 369, 000, 000  ($26,000,000,000).  An  illustration  of  the  remarkable 
growth  in  the  employment  of  banking  power  is  afforded  by  the 
QT-ganization  and  use  of  clearing  houses  in  the  leading  commercial 
countries.  In  the  United  States,  the  clearings  reported  for  the  calen¬ 
dar  year  1899  all  cities  having  clearing  houses,  were  $88,909,661,- 
776.  The  income  of  all  workers,  in  all  occupations,  was  probably  about 
$10,000,000,000.  The  transactions  through  the  clearing  houses,  there¬ 
fore,  representing  the  multiplied  activities  necessary  to  produce  such 
net  earnings,  were  nine  times  their  amount.  In  France,  the  payments 
into  the  Bank  of  France  in  1899  were  146,930,700,000  francs  ($28,370,- 
000,000),  which  is  about  seven  times  the  national  income.  In  the 
case  of  Great  Britain,  the  clearings  at  London  in  1899  were  9,150,- 
269,000  ($44,600,000,000),  which  is  about  five  times  the  national 

income.  An  indication  of  the  growth  of  clearings  in  these  three  prin¬ 
cipal  countries,  reduced  to  American  money,  is  afforded  by  the  fol¬ 
lowing  brief  comparative  table :  — 


Year 

New  York 

lyONDON 

Bank  of  France 

1870 . 

$27,804,539,406 

$20,000,000,000 

$  9,460,000,000 

1880 . 

37,182,128,621 

28,200.000,000 

14,530,000,000 

1890 . 

37,660,686,572 

38,100,000,000 

16,000,000,000 

1899 . 

57.368,230,771 

44,600,000,000 

28,370,000,000 

340 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


This  great  structure  of  credit  has  grown  up  almost  entirely  within 
half  a  century,  as  a  necessary  factor  in  the  new  machinery  of  produc¬ 
tion  and  exchange.  The  early  banks  were  conducted  mainly  with  the 
capital  of  their  own  shareholders,  and  the  fortunate  few  who  had  ac¬ 
cumulated  wealth  by  patient  industry,  colonial  trading,  or  by  more 
questionable  methods.  It  remained  for  the  last  half  of  the  century 
to  bring  to  all  the  banks  in  the  advanced  civilized  countries  a  flood 
of  the  saved  capital  of  people  of  small  and  moderate  means.  The 
new  conditions  of  production,  with  higher  wages  for  labor,  and  the 
increase  in  the  proportions  of  the  professional  classes,  gave  the  ability 
to  save,  without  the  sacrifice  of  comforts,  to  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  men,  who,  under  earlier  conditions,  would  have  been  barely  able 
to  maintain  the  struggle  for  existence.  Hence  came  the  great  in¬ 
crease  in  deposits  in  the  commercial  banks  and  the  creation  of  sav¬ 
ings  banks  for  the  masses.  There  came  also,  as  a  necessary  incident 
to  the  gathering  of  capital  for  the  manufacturing  and  for  railway 
construction,  the  issue  of  titles  to  wealth  in  a  new  form,  representing 
divisible  shares  in  these  new  enterprises. 

This  new  form  of  wealth,  almost  wholly  a  creation  of  the  free 
play  of  capital  under  modern  conditions,  consists  of  the  shares,  and 
bonds,  of  stock  companies.  The  principle  of  limited  liability,  which 
applies  to  most  stock  companies,  is  of  comparatively  modern  develop¬ 
ment.  A  limited  company  is  one  in  which  the  shareholders  are  liable 
for  the  debts  of  the  company  only  to  the  amount  of  their  shares,  or 
sometimes  to  double  the  amount,  according  to  the  law  governing  the 
subject.  In  the  absence  of  such  laws,  they  would  be  liable  for  all 
the  debts  of  the  company  with  their  entire  property  as  are  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  a  private  firm.  The  principle  of  limited  liability  permits  a 
man  to  embark  with  many  others,  in  a  large  enterprise,  with  exact 
knowledge  of  the  amount  that  he  risks.  Few  men  would  care  to  buy 
railway  shares  or  bank  capital  if  they  ran  the  risk  of  having  their 
entire  fortunes  appropriated  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  railway  in  case 
it  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  or  if  they  were  compelled  to 
pay  all  the  depositors  of  a  bank  in  case  of  failure.  Limited  liability 
.  is  essential,  therefore,  to  induce  the  owners  of  capital  to  go  into  such 
enterprises;  it  is,  also,  a  matter  of  convenience  in  subdividing  their 
expense,  and  in  combining,  under  a  single  management,  the  savings 
of  many  hundreds,  and  even  thousands,  of  persons.  It  permits  the 
man  with  saved  capital  to  invest  it  in  profitable  enterprises  without 
exercising  personal  supervision  over  his  investment,  except  so  far  as 
he  wishes  to  participate  .in  meetings  of  shareholders  to  secure  honest 
and  efficient  control. 

Government  debts  —  the  first  form  of  negotiable  securities  —  grad- 


/ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  341 

ually  paved  the  way  for  the  issue  of  railway  bonds,  and  stock,  and 
of  shares  in  manufacturing-,  and*  other  industrial  enterprises.  The  re¬ 
markable  growth  in  capital,  and  its  issues,  in  the  form  of  securities, 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  1789,  the  number  of  securities  listed 
on  the  Paris  Stock  Exchange  was  only  17,  and  as  late  as  the  year 
1815,  the  shares  of  only  30  companies  were  listed  in  London,  20  in 
Paris,  and  ii  in  Berlin.  In  1897,  the  number  of  French  securities 
admitted  to  the  official  exchange  was  493,  representing  a  nominal 
capital  of  59,142,400,000  francs,  or  more  than  eleven  thousand  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars.  There  were  also  admitted  to  the  official  stock  exchange 
236  foreign  securities,  representing  French  investments  abroad  of 
about  26,000,000,000  francs.  Great  Britain  easily  leads  the  world  in 
the  volume  of  her  stock  exchange  business.  The  value  of  her  securi¬ 
ties  was  computed  in  1895  at  ;^7, 246, 902, 726,  or  about  $36,000,000,000. 
This  represents  more  than  all  the  wealth  of  Great  Britain  or  the 
United  States  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and  perhaps  more  than 
all  the  wealth,  exclusive  of  land,  held  in  the  civilized  world  at  that 
time.  A  calculation,  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  International 
Statistical  Institute,  in  1895,  put  the  total  transferable  wealth  of  the 
leading  European  countries,  including  stock  exchange  securities,  mort¬ 
gages,  and  savings  deposits,  at  $85,000,000,000.  An  annual  computa¬ 
tion  which  is  made  in  Brussels  by  the  leading  financial  journal  there, 
the  Moniteur  des  Interets  Materiels^  puts  the  issue  of  new  securities 
in  Europe  at  9,129,054,150  francs  in  1896;  8,911,870,530  francs  in 

1897;  8,902,776,660  francs  in  1898,  and  10,577,406,550  in  1899.  Thus 
not  less  than  $1,800,000,000  in  new  savings  entered  in  the  field  in 
each  of  these  years,  seeking  new  investments. 

These  large  issues  of  new  securities  have  naturally  been  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  great  increase  in  the  number  as  well  as  in  the  capital¬ 
ization  of  stock  companies.  An  outburst  of  activity  in  the  creation 
of  such  companies  has  been  one  of  the  marked  features  of  industrial 
activity  in  the  leading  civilized  countries.  In  Great  Britain,  the 
organization  of  companies  was  1,302  in  1880,  with  a  total  capital 
of  ^168,466,322,  which  rose  in  1890  to  2,789,  with  a  capital  of 
^£^238,759,472 ;  in  1898  to  5,182,  with  a  capital  of  ^2^2,2^^ and 
in  1899  4)9^0,  with  a  capital  of  ^247,871,414  ($1,200,000,000).  The 

figures  regarding  the  companies  actually  continuing  in  business  from 
year  to  year,  showing  the  sifting  out  of  the  incompetent,  and  the 
gradual  additions  to  working  capital  of  the  more  efficient,  afford  a 
more  accurate  test  of  the  accumulated  capital  resources  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  The  total  number  of  such  companies  was  estimated  in  April, 
1884,  to  be  8,692,  with  a  paid-up  capital  of  ;^475,55i, 294.  The  total 
rose  more  than  50  per  cent,  by  April,  1890,  when  the  number  was 


342 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


i3j323,  and  the  paid-np  capital  was  ^^775, 139,553.  A  further  increase 
carried  the  number  in  April,  1899,  to  27,969,  and  the  paid-up  capital 
to  ^1,512,098,098  ($7,400,000,000). 

In  Germany,  the  organization  of  the  empire  under  a  common 
head,  and  the  large  fund  of  capital  brought  into  the  country  by  the 
war  indemnity  paid  by  France,  resulted  in  a  stimulus  to  the  creation 
of  stock  companies,  which  caused  the  creation  of  479  in  1872,  with  a 
capital  of  1,477,700,000  marks  ($360,000,000),  and  242  in  1873,  with 
a  capital  of  544,200,000  marks.  Then  came  the  effects  of  the  crash  of 
the  latter  year,  which  reduced  the  organization  of  companies  to  a 
minimum  of  42  in  1876,  with  a  capital  of  18,200,000  marks.  There 
was  a  slight  revival  of  activity  in  1880  and  in  1889,  but  it  was  only 
with  the  year  1895  that  the  creation  of  stock  companies  upon  a  more 
solid  basis  again  attained  striking  figures.  The  number  of  companies 
organized  in  1895  was  161,  with  a  capital  of  250,700,000  marks;  1896, 
182  companies,  with  a  capital  of  268,000,000  marks;  1897,  254  com¬ 
panies,  with  a  capital  of  380,500,000  marks;  1898,  329  companies,  with 
a  capital  of  463,600,000  marks;  and  1899,  364  companies,  with  a  cap¬ 
ital  of  544,400,000  marks  ($135,000,000).  The  growth  of  corporations 
in  Russia  has  been  even  more  remarkable.  The  capital  of  all  stock 
companies  organized  during  the  nineteenth  century,  up  to  the  close 
of  1899,  was  about  2,383,000,000  rubles  ($1,200,000,000),  or  as  much 
as  the  issues  of  the  single  year  1899  in  Great  Britain.  ,But  of  this 
amount  more  than  half  was  authorized  during  the  five  years  begin¬ 
ning  with  1895.  The  highest  record  reached  prior  to  that  year  was 
in  1890,  when  the  issues  of  capital  were  63,415,000  rubles.  The  issues 
for  1895  rose  to  129,363,000  rubles;  1896,  232,640,000  rubles;  1897, 
239,424,000  rubles;  1898,  256,237,000  rubles,  and  1899,  358,354,812 

rubles  ($187,000,000). 

The  equipment  of  the  civilized  world  for  grappling  with  the  new 
conditions  of  transportation  and  exchange  would  still  have  been  in- 

V 

complete,  in  spite  of  the  spread  of  the  railways,  and  the  accumula¬ 
tion  of  transferable  capital,  but  for  the  series  of  inventions  which 
promote  quick  communication.  The  post-office,  the  telegraph,  the 
ocean  cable,  and  the  telephone,  were  an  almost  necessary  supplement 
of  the  more  substantial  and  visible  instruments  of  the  new  economic 
order.  In  Great  Britain  and  in  the  United  States,  the  use  of  the 
mails  doubled  within  the  twenty  years  which  closed  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  number  of  letters  delivered  in  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  rose  from  1,165,000,000  in  the  fiscal  year 
1881  to  2,246,800,000  in '1900.  The  average  number  per  capita  rose 
in  the  meantime  by  more  than  60  per  cent.,  from  34  to  55.  The 
number  of  newspapers  and  packets  delivered  increased  by  more  than 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


343 


130  per  cent.,  from  364,000,000  in  1881  to  866,200,000  in  1899.  In 
the  United  States,  an  exact  account  is  not  kept  of  the  number  of 
pieces  of  mail  matter  handled,  but  an  illustration  of  the  progress 
made  is  afforded  by  the  number  of  postage  stamps  and  other  pieces 
of  stamped  paper  which  are  sold  at  the  post-offices.  The  number  of 
pieces  of  stamped  paper  thus  issued  was  1,490,773,498  in  1881,  repre¬ 
senting  a  face  value  of  $34,483,503.  The  amount  substantially  doubled 
in  1890,  when  the  number  of  pieces  was  3,183,741,338,  and  their  value 
was  $59,458,054,  and  nearly  trebled  for  the  fiscal  year  1900,  when  the 
number  of  pieces  was  5,283,687,010  and  the  face  value  was  $97,640,- 
897.  Thus,  within  nineteen  years,  with  an  increase  of  about  fifty 
per  cent,  in  population,  there  was  an  increase  of  nearly  two  hundred 
per  cent,  in  the  postal  expenditure  of  the  people,  and  their  per  capita 
postal  expenditures  rose  from  70  cents  to  $1.30. 

In  France,  the  number  of  letters  passing  through  the  mails  in¬ 
creased  more  that  sixty  per  cent,  from  i860  to  1881,  and  nearly  fifty  per 
cent,  from  1881  to  1898.  The  number  of  letters  delivered  in  i860  was 
265,352,000,  which  rose  in  1881  to  481,130,349,  and  in  1898  to  718,- 
252,123.  The  increase  was  much  more  striking  in  the  delivery  of 
newspapers  and  other  printed  matter,  which  rose  from  179,138,000 
pieces  in  i860  to  687,692,521  pieces  in  1881,  and  1,214,039,377  in  1898. 
In  Belgium,  the  delivery  of  letters  rose  from  73,419,058  in  1880  to 
146,496,146  in  1898,  and  the  delivery  of  newspapers  increased  in 
nearly  corresponding  ratio,  from  71,830,000  in  1880  to  122,451,701  in 
1898.  In  Germany,  the  increase  in  letters  received  was  from  565,- 
528,000  in  1875  to  731,755,000  in  1880,  to  1,437,948,000  in  1890,  and  to 
2,181,924,000  in  1898.  In  Austria,  the  letters  handled  increased  from 
26,071,000  in  1850  to  148,499,000  in  1870,  to  538,273,000  in  1890,  and 
to  922,807,000  in  1898.  The  classification  of  packages  differs,  one 
country  from  another,  but  substantial  uniformity,  from  year  to  year, 
within  the  country,  permits  comparisons  which  show  the  phenomenal 
growth  of  recent  years. 

The  increase  in  the  use  of  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone  has 
been  even  more  phenomenal.  In  Great  Britain,  the  number  of  mes¬ 
sages  sent  rose  from  29,966,965  in  the  fiscal  year  1881  to  62,368,034  in 
1890  and  90,415,123  in  1900.  A  great  increase  occurred  after  1885, 
when  the  minimum  charge  for  an  inland  dispatch  was  reduced  from 
a  shilling  (25  cents)  to  sixpense  (13  cents).  In  the  United  States,  the 
number  of  miles  of  wire  operated  by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company  rose  from  112,191  in  1870  to  874,420  in  1898,  and  the  num¬ 
ber  of  offices  from  3,972  to  22,210.  The  number  of  messages  sent  in¬ 
creased  in  the  same  interval  from  9,157,646,  at  an  average  charge  of 
75.5  cents,  to  63,173,749,  at  an  average  charge  of  30.1  cents.  The  Postal 


344 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Telegraph  Company  increased  its  length  of  wires  from  23,587  miles 
in  1885  to  143,290  miles  in  1898,  while  the  number  of  messages  rose 
from  1,428,790  to  15,407,018. 

In  France  the  length  of  telegraph  lines  rose  from  70,277  kilometers 
(43,650  miles)  in  1881  to  130,830  kilometers  in  1898,  and  the  kilome¬ 
ters  of  actual  wire  from  215,136  to  590,713  (366,800  miles).  The 
number  pf  messages  increased  within  seventeen  years  by  116  per  cent., 
from  18,561,038  in  1881  to  40,146,720  in  1898.  The  use  of  local  tele¬ 
phones,  which  was  not  a  factor  in  communication  in  1881,  amounted 
to  123,561,310  messages  in  1898.  In  Germany,  the  length  of  tele¬ 
graph  lines  rose  from  15,048  miles  in  1870  to  37,236  miles  in  1880 
and  to  76,601  miles  in  1898.  The  length  of  wire,  which  was  50,287 
miles  in  1870  and  132,476  miles  in  1880,  rose  in  1898  to  314,405 
miles.  The  number  of  home  messages,  which  was  only  4,731,919  in 
1870  and  9,448,126  in  1880,  was  26,186,021  in  1898.  These  figures  are 
exclusive  of  Wiirtemberg  and  Bavaria,  two  large  German  states,  whose 
telegraph  mileage  is  more  than  14,000,  and  where  the  number  of 
messages  sent  in  1898,  within  the  two  kingdoms  alone,  was  about 
1,800,000  and  the  number  sent  to  foreign  countries  and  to  other  Ger¬ 
man  states  was  more  than  4,000,000.  In  Belgium,  the  mileage  of  lines 
.  rose  only  from  3,451  in  1880  to  3,961  in  1898,  because  of  the  compara¬ 
tively  complete  equipment  of  the  small  area  of  the  country  on  the 
earlier  date,  but  the  number  of  home  messages  increased  more  than 
50  per  cent.,  from  2,031,426  in  1880  to  3,113,715  in  1898,  and  the 
number  of  international  messages. by  nearly  150  percent,  from  1,035,- 
655  in  1880  to  2,523,654  in  1898. 

The  total  length  of  the  telegraph  and  cable  wires  of  the  world,  ac¬ 
cording  to  an  estimate  presented  by  O.  P.  Austin,  Chief  of  the  Treas¬ 
ury  Bureau  of  Statistics,  at  the  beginning  of  1899,  was  2,300,000 
miles.  The  length  of  the  land  lines  was  put  at  662,000  miles,  repre¬ 
senting  a  cost  of  $310,000,000,  and  the  length  of  ocean  cable  lines  at 
170,000  miles,  representing  a  cost  of  $250,000,000. 

What  has  been  set  forth  in  regard  to  producing  power,  railway 
equipment,  banking  power,  and  means  of  communication,  represents 
in  a  sense  the  machinery  of  modern  production  rather  than  its  results. 
This  splendid  equipment  has  been  in  operation  for  so  brief  a  period 
that  its  full  capacity  has  only  begun  to  be  tested,  but  already  its  pow¬ 
ers  have  been  demonstrated  by  a  greatly  increased  manufactured  prod¬ 
uct,  an  enlarged  volume  of  trade  between  nations,  and  new  standards 
of  comfort  for  the  masses  of  men.  The  aggregates  of  the  world’s 
commerce,  already  presented,  almost  fail  of  their  proper  impression  by 
their  very  magnitude.  It  will  be  well,  therefore,  to  set  forth  a  little 
more  in  detail  the  progress  of  the  closing  decades  of  the  nineteenth 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


345 


century.  From  1870  to  1900,  the  wealth  of  the  United  States  rose 
from  $30,068,518,507  to  $94,000,000,000  —  an  increase  of  200  per  cent, 
in  a  generation,  while  population  advanced  only  half  as  rapidly, — 
from  38,558,371  to  76,295,220.  The  ratio  of  wealth  per  capita,  there¬ 
fore,  rose  from  $779.82  in  1870  to  $1,232  in  1890.  Exports  of  Amer¬ 
ican  merchandise  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  wealth  and  exports  of 
manufactured  articles  with  phenomenal  rapidity,  when  American  prices 
were  brought  down  to  the  level  of  those  of  the  world  after  the  panie  of 
1893.  Some  conception  of  the  recent  progress  of  this  movement  may 
be  formed  from  these  figures :  — 


Merchandise  Exports  from  the  United  States 


Year  Ending 
June  30 

Total  Exports 

Exports  of  Manufactures 

Value 

Per 

Cent. 

i860 . 

$  316,242,432 

$  40,345,892 

12.76 

1870 . 

455,208,34 

68,279,764 

15.00 

1880 . 

823,946,353 

102,856,015 

12.48 

1890 . 

845,293.828 

151,102,376 

17.87 

1895 . 

793,392,599 

183,595,743 

23-14 

1898 . 

1,210,291,913 

290,697,354 

24.02 

1900 . 

1,394,483,082 

433,851,756 

31-55 

The  growth  of  wealth,  and  foreign  trade,  was  equally  remarkable 
in  the  case  of  Great  Britain.  Exports  of  British  products  were  ^51,- 
308,000  ($250,000,000)  in  1840,  and  had  already  risen,  in  1870,  to  ^199,- 
640,000  ($975,000,000);  but  the  amount  rose  in  1890  to  ^263,530,585. 
The  increase  was  not  material  in  later  years,  because  the  additions  to 
British  capital  began  to  be  employed  abroad  instead  of  swelling  pro¬ 
duction  at  home.  This  resulted  in  making  the  borrowing  countries 
tributary  to  Great  Britain,  who  was  able  to  take  her  dividends  in  a 
great  excess  of  merchandise  importations  over  exports.  Imports  of 
merchandise  rose  from  ^370,967,955  in  1885  to  ^485,035,583  ($2,365,- 
000,000)  in  1899.  The  property  and  profits  assessed  for  the  income 
tax,  which  stood  at  the  respectable  total  of  ^£'137,823,000  ($680,000,- 
000)  in  1815,  rose  to  ;2£527, 675,000  in  1877,  to  ^626,356,000  in  1890, 
and  ;£‘7i9,  162,000  ($3,500,000,000)  in  1899.  Thus  the  brief  period  of 
twenty-two  years  witnessed  an  increase  of  assessable  property  amount- 
to  ^190,000,000,  or  more  than  thirty-five  per  cent. 

A  necessary  consequence  of  the  increased  productive  power  of  the 
civilized  world  has  been  the  increased  comfort  of  the  masses.  While 
it  is  sometimes  contended  by  those  who  have  not  carefully  examined 


346 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


the  facts,  that  the  rich  are  growing  richer  and  the  poor,  poorer, 
the  statistics  bearing  upon  the  subject  generally  go  to  sustain  only 
the  first  half  of  the  proposition,  and  to  disprove  the  last  half. 
While  it  may  be  true  that  the  distribution  of  the  new  wealth  has  not 
been  altogether  equitable,  it  has  been  almost  inevitable  that  some  por¬ 
tion  should  fall  to  the  laboring  masses,  because  of  the  employment  of 
the  great  bulk  of  modern  wealth  in  ministering  to  luxury  or  to  new 
production.  Wealth  which  is  not  kept  in  idle  hoards  tends  to  develop 
new  industries,  to  increase  the  demand  for  labor,  and  to  thereby  raise 
wages  by  intensifying  the  competition  for  labor.  There  are  several 
interesting  statistical  facts  that  tend  to  support  the  view  that  the 
comfort  of  the  masses  materially  increased  during  the  nineteenth  cen^ 
tury,  and  that  the  number  of  persons  enjoying  some  of  the  luxuries 
of  life  greatly  increased  in  proportion  to  the  whole  population.  Care¬ 
ful  inquiry  by  such  competent  authorities  as  Col.  Carroll  D.  Wright, 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Labor,  shows  that  wages  in  all 
the  chief  lines  of  manual  labor  were  much  higher  at  the  close  of  the 
century  than  at  its  beginning. 

Advances  in  wages  were  slow  during  the  Revolutionary,  and  Co¬ 
lonial,  period,  but  the  advance  in  mechanical  industries  began  after 
the  introduction  of  the  factory  system.  In  1790,  carpenters  were  paid 
less  that  60  cents  a  day.  This  rose  to  $1.09  in  1810  and  to  about 
$1.40  in  the  North  by  1840.  Laborers,  paid  43  cents  a  day  in  1790, 
were  receiving  from  87.5  cents  to  $1.00  by  i860.  Shoemakers,  who 
received  73.5  cents  in  1790,  were 'paid  $1.70  in  i860.  The  average 
wages  during  the  ten  years  ending  with  i860  gave  to  agricultural 
laborers,  $1.01  per  day,  to  blacksmiths,  $1.69,  to  carpenters,  $2.03,  to 
masons,  $1.53,  to  mill  operatives,  87  cents. 

Then  came  the  great  outburst  of  railway  building,  and  machine  in¬ 
dustry,  which  made  the  closing  decade  of  the  century  so  notable  in 
economic  history.  The  subject  of  wages  and  hours  of  labor,  during 
this  period,  was  carefully  investigated  under  the  authority  of  the  Sen¬ 
ate  Committee  on  Finance,  by  Professor  Roland  P.  Falkner,  in  1891. 
The  result  reduced  all  wages  to  percentages  based  upon  those  of  i860 
as  the  unit.  The  figures  showed  that  when  wages  were  reduced  to  a 
gold  basis,  they  averaged  in  1840  87.7  per  cent,  of  the  wages  of  i860. 
Then  came  the  period  of  greenback  issues  during  the  Civil  War,  when 
wages  in  paper  were  high,  but  represented  only  66.2  per  cent,  in  gold 
of  the  rates  of  i860.  The  upward  movement  was  rapid  as  the  pre¬ 
mium  on  gold  fell,  and  the  gold  wages  of  1872,  when  prices  were 
also  high,  were  152.2  per  cent,  of  those  of  i860.  There  was  a 
fall  during  the  years  of  depression  that  carried  wages  as  low  as 
135.2  in  1876,  but  even  at  this  time,  their  purchasing  power  was 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


347 


probably  quite  as  large  as  in  1872,  because  of  the  fall  in  prices 

of  nearly  all  manufactured  articles  and  of  other  necessaries  of 
life.  Then  began  a  new  upward  movement  in  gold  wages,  which 
carried  them  in  1880  to  14 1.5  per  cent,  of  the  rates  of  i860,  to 
158.9  per  cent,  for  1890,  and  to  103.43  per  cent,  of  the  wages 
of  1891  for  the  year  1900.  This  upward  movement  of  wages 

went  on  while  the  average  working  hours,  which  were  11.4  in  1840, 
fell  to  eleven  hours  in  i860,  to  ten  and  a  half  hours  in  1870,  to  10.3 
hours  in  1880,  and  to  ten  hours  in  1889.  This  was  the  average  of 
all  leading,  mechanical  industries,  including  some  in  which  long  hours 
still  prevail,  but  others  in  which  the  time  has  fallen  considerably  be¬ 
low  ten  hours  per  day.  Comparing  the  hours  of  labor  with  the  rates 
cf  wages,  it  appears  that  the  amount  of  money  now  paid  is,  substan¬ 
tially,  twice  that  paid  half  a  century  ago  for  a  day  which  is  at  least 

thirteen  per  cent,  shorter  than  that  under  the  smaller  wages. 

The  upward  movement  of  wages  has  been  accompanied  by  the 
downward  movement  of  prices  This  proposition  would  seem  a  par¬ 
adox,  if  there  had  not  been  so  great  an  increase  in  the  efficiency  of 
labor  by  means  of  machinery.  A  simple  average  of  prices  for  all 
commodities,  taking  i860  as  the  unit,  showed  average  prices  for  the 
five  years  ending  with  1844,  of  108.8;  which  advanced  during  the 
paper  money  period  as  high  as  178.8  for  the  five  years  ending  with 
1869,  but  fell  to  105.3  for  the  five  years  ending  with  1884,  to  93.2 
for  the  five  years  ending  with  1899,  and  to  92.3  for  1891.  The  pur¬ 
chasing  power  of  wages,  therefore,  is  considerably  greater  than  is 
their  nominal  increase  in  money.  If  this  fact  is  not  clear  to  all  wage 
earners,  it  is  largely  because  there  are  so  many  articles,  like  glass, 
chinaware,  wall  paper,  carpets,  and  finer  grades  of  clothing,  that  are 
now  considered  necessaries  in  the  life  of  the  laborer,  but  that  were 
not  enjoyed  at  all,  or  only  in  inferior  qualities,  when  the  productive 
power  of  the  human  race  was  smaller. 

Definite  proof  of  the  increased  consumption  of  high  grade  food 
products,  by  the  masses,  can  be  found  in  the  statistics  of  certain 
countries.  The  British  returns  of  colonial  products  imported  per 
capita  are  among  the  most  authentic  of  these  statistics,  and  they 
reveal  some  astonishing  results.  The  table  on  the  following  page 
shows  the  per  capita  consumption  of  sugar,  tea,  and  tobacco,  in  the 
United  Kingdom  for  representative  fiscal  years. 

These  figures  show  that  within  the  past  sixty  years  the  consump¬ 
tion  of  tea  by  the  British  people  has  increased  more  than  fourfold 
per  head,  and  that  the  consumption  of  tobacco  has  more  than  doubled. 
The  increase  since  1880  has  been  more  than  25  per  cent,  in  tea,  and 
Si,n  equal  amount  in  tobacco.  These  figures  show  not  only  a  great 


34^ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


(In  Pounds  Per  Capita) 


Year 

Sue 

Raw 

iAR 

Refined 

Tea 

Tobacco 

1840 . 

IS. 20 

1.22 

0.86 

1880 . 

53-98 

9.42 

4-57  , 

1.42 

1885 . 

59-05 

15-89 

5.06 

1.46 

1890 . 

44-99 

28.22 

5-17 

1-55 

1895 . 

48.04 

40.09 

5-67 

1.67 

1898 . 

39-89 

45-29 

5-86 

1-83 

1899  . 

35-63 

48.68 

5-98 

1.89 

increase  in  the  quantity  of  these  articles  consumed, —  articles  which 
would  have  been  rated  by  the  laborer  of  a  century  ago  as  unattainable 
luxuries, —  but  they  show  a  surprising  demand  for  the  best  article  of 
its  kind  on  the  market,  in  the  increased  proportion  of  refined  sugar 
used,  in  place  of  the  brown  raw  sugar,  which  was  so  generally  con¬ 
sumed,  even  by  the  well-to-do,  before  the  price  of  refined  sugar  was 
forced  down  by  competition,  and  by  the  adoption  of  the  most  efficient 
methods  of  refining. 

With  these  proofs  of  larger  earnings,  shorter  hours,  and  better 
living  for  the  masses,  may  be  put  the  evidence  of  wider  opportunity 
through  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  professional  classes. 
This  increase  is  due  primarily  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  larger  sur¬ 
plus  in  the  community  than  in  previous  generations,  above  what  is 
required  for  food,  clothing,  and  shelter.  If  the  labor  of  four-fifths  of 
the  population  were  required  to  produce  living  necessities,  in  an  early 
age  o?  civilization,  and  some  improvement  in  machinery  or  in  meth¬ 
ods  of  production  enabled  three-fifths  to  produce  such  necessaries,  it 
is  clear  that  one-fifth  of  the  population  would  be  released  for  produc¬ 
ing  things  which  could  not  be  enjoyed  at  all  before.  Hence  comes 
the  multiplication  of  lawyers,  physicians,  literary  and  pictorial  artists, 
and  the  ability  of  civilized  countries  to  bear  a  heavy  burden  of  taxa¬ 
tion  for  building  roads,  improving  harbors,  paving  and  lighting  city 
streets,  and  for  providing  a  complete  education  for  every  citizen. 

The  greater  social  wealth  explains  the  remarkable  increase  in 
public  expenditures,  which  has  excited  alarm  in  some  quarters  during 
the  past  generation.  In  Great  Britain,  the  expenditures  of  1871  were 
^69,548,539  ($339,000,000),  but  this  amount  rose  in  1899  to  ^108, 150,- 
236  ($540,000,000), — an  increase  of  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  within 
a  generation.  If  the  charge  for  interest  on  the  debt  and  sinking 
fund  were  taken  out,  amounting  to  about  ^£'25, 000, 000  per  year,  the 
advance  on  account  of  other  expenditures  would  be  from  about 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


349 


^45,000,000  in  1871,  to  ^83,000,000  in  1899,  an  increase  of  about  84 
per  cent,  within  a  generation.  In  the  United  States,  the  expendi¬ 
tures  of  the  Federal  Government  were  only  $1.39  per  capita  in  1842, 
and  had  risen  in  i860  only  to  $2.01  per  capita.  Within  less  than  a 
generation,  in  1886,  expenditures  per  capita  had  risen  to  $4.22.  This 
was  the  lowest  point  touched  after  the  Civil  War.  Expenditures  rose 
in  1897  to  $5.01  per  capita,  or  to  two  and  a  half  times  what  they 
were  in  i860,  and  in  later  years,  under  the  influence  of  the  War  with 
Spain,  to  still  higher  figures.  In  France  the  entire  public  budget  in 
1812  was  about  $255,000,000,  which  has  been  increased  in  recent  years 
to  more  than  $600,000,000. 

If  these  figures  tend  at  first  to  cause  misgivings,  they  take  on 
a  different  aspect  when  the  objects  of  expenditures  are  examined. 
The  increase  in  expenditures  has  been  applied '  largely  to  improve¬ 
ments  which  would  not  have  been  possible  under  the  scale  of  produc¬ 
tion  prevailing  a  century  ago,  or  a  generation  ago.  While  grinding 
taxation  under  the  old  regime  in  England,  France,  and  other 
countries,  supported  a  few  of  the  ruling  class  in  magnificence,  roads 
were  bad,  harbors  where  unimproved,  cit}"  streets  were  badly  paved, 
sanitation  was  ignored,  there  was  no  efficient  protection  against  fire, 
and  thieves  and  other  criminals  pursued  their  calling  almost  un¬ 
whipped  of  justice.  Under  modern  conditions,  the  many  enjoy  the 
proceeds  of  public  taxation,  which  formerly  went  for  the  luxuries  of 
a  few.  Fine  roads,  safe  harbors,  well-paved  streets,  fine  parks,  are 
only  a  few  of  the  many  benefits  conferred  by  the  modern  system  of 
taxation.  Many  branches  of  scientific  inquiry,  tending  to  new  discov¬ 
eries  and  to  length  of  life,  are  now  conducted  under  the  government 
supervision,  while  an  efficient  police  system,  scientific  sanitation,  and 
popular  education,  have  become  the  common-place  privileges  of  the 
citizen  of  the  modern  state. 

How  rapid,  and  how  essentially  recent,  has  been  this  growth  in  the 
public  services  extended  to  the  masses,  may  be  judged  by  a  few  illus¬ 
trations.  In  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in  the 
fiscal  year  1868,  total  expenditures  for  local  purposes  were  ^2^^36,132,- 
834  ($176,000,000).  The  amount  of  such  expenditures  rose  to  ^70,- 
708,002  in  1891,  and  to  ;£^io3, 137,817  ($503,000,000)  in  1898.  Here  was 
a  nearly  threefold  increase  in  thirty  years.  Examination  of  the  items 
shows  that  expenditures  for  police,  sanitation,  and  other  public  insti¬ 
tutions,  rose  from  ^^14, 423, 632  ($70,000,000)  in  1868  to  ^35,502,816  in 
1891,  and  to  ^54,632,147  ($266,000,000)  in  1898.  Expenditures  by  har¬ 
bor  authorities  swelled  from  ^^2, 581, 796  in  1868  to  ^5,598,263  in  1898. 
The  expenditures  by  school  boards  were  not  given  in  1868,  but  were 
probably  not  more  than  ;£4,ooo,ooo.  The  amount  in  1885  was  only 


350 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


^^6, 385, 207,  but  this  increased  in  1898  to  ^12,304,456  ($60,000,000). 
Thus  while  total  expenditures  increased  nearly  threefold,  expenditures 
for  those  objeets  which  directly  serve  the  eomfort  and  education  of  the 
people  inereased  much  more  than  threefold.  In  the  United  States, 
according  to  some  statistics  carefully  prepared  by  Secretary  Gage, 
salaries  paid  to  sehool  teachers  rose  from  $37,832,556  in  1870  to  $55,- 
942,972  in  1880  and  to  $123,809,412  in  1899.  River  and  harbor  im¬ 
provements,  for  which  only  $221,973  was  spent  in  i860,  and  only 
$8,976,500  in  1880,  required  $20,785,049  in  1898.  The  lighthouse  es¬ 
tablishment,  which  cost  $835,373  in  i860  and  $1,767,515  in  1874,  called 
for  $3,556,840  in  1900.  The  postal  service,  which  called  for  an  ex¬ 
penditure  of  only  $29,084,946  in  1873,  called  for  $65,930,717  in  1890, 
and  for  $109,585,358  in  1900.  That  even  in  the  colonial  establish¬ 
ments,  publie  expenditure  is  now  devoted  largely  to  objects  of  benefit 
to  the  people,  is  shown,  in  a  striking  manner,  by  the  budget  for  the 
French  province  of  Algeria  for  1901.  Out  of  a  total  proposed  expendi¬ 
ture  of  55,237,675  francs  ($11,000,000)  nearly  one-half  was  for  the  five 
items,  edueation,  justice,  public  works,  agriculture  and  forests,  and 
postal  and  telegraph  service.  Public  instruction  called  for  6,656,629 
francs;  justice,  2,731,300  franes;  publie  works,  10,760,130  francs;  agri¬ 
culture  and  forests,  4,326,434  francs;  and  postal  and  telegraph  service, 
6,424,544  francs. 

These  figures  illustrate  only  a  few  of  the  many  services  rendered 
by  modern  governments  to  the  people.  The  growth  of  commerce, 
and  the  struggle  among  the  nations  for  commereial  power,  are  produc¬ 
ing  new  conditions,  which  call  in  some  cases  for  the  aid  of  the  state 
in  performing  works  which  could  not  well  be  performed  by  private 
enterprise.  The  building  of  ocean-going  steamers  of  nearly  thirty 
feet  draft  requires  the  deepening  of  harbors  to  float  them.  Hence 
the  eall,  within  the  last  few  years,  for  liberal  appropriations  for  such 
purposes.  First-class  dock  privileges,  perfect  systems  of  buoys  and 
lighting,  and  thorough  surveys  of  dangerous  eoasts,  are  a  part  of  the 
machinery  of  modern  commerce  which  no  government  can  neglect 
without  endangering  millions  of  valuable  property,  and  putting  its 
people  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  struggle  for  commercial  power.  The 
best  technieal,  as  well  as  the  best  general,  edueation  is  another  factor 
in  the  efficiency  of  competition  between  modern  peoples,  and  money 
spent  by  the  state  in  such  education  is  likely  to  be  repaid  many  fold 
by  the  superiority  in  technical  skill  and  by  the  capaeity  for  conduct- 
ing  great  enterprises,  which  are  given  profitable  direetion,  if  they  are 
not  created,  by  proper  education. 

Increased  productive  power,  and  increased  earnings  among  the 
mass  of  men,  largely  the  result  of  machinery  and  of  modern  methods 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


351 


of  transportation,  afford  the  means  for  paying  heavier  taxes  and  for 
obtaining  the  benefits  of  modern  education,  sanitation,  and  commercial 
development.  These  charges  have  perhaps  increased  in  a  larger  pro¬ 
portion  than  has  the  total  increase  in  income,  but  a  little  considera¬ 
tion  will  show  that  even  this  condition  does  not  impose  undue  burdens. 
If  the  entire  efforts  of  a  community  were  required  in  early  times  to 
produce  its  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  and  a  surplus  large  enough  to 
maintain  the  bare  rudiments  of  government  and  professional  life,  most 
of  the  surplus  resulting  from  increased  productive  power  under  mod¬ 
ern  conditions  is  available  for  the  last  two  objections  alone.  Let  it 
be  supposed  that  the  productive  power,  in  1870,  of  the  average  in¬ 
dividual  in  the  community  was  represented  by  eleven  units,  and  that 
ten  of  these  were  required  for  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  leaving  the 
additional  unit  for  taxes,  amusements,  and  luxuries.  It  is  clear  that 
if  productive  power  were  increased  by  only  one  unit,  the  amount 
which  could  be  spent  upon  better  public  service,  and  paid  to  the 
professional  classes  for  better  medical  service,  more  careful  protec¬ 
tion  of  legal  rights,  artistic  enjoyment,  and  for  other  luxuries  of  liv¬ 
ing,  would  be  doubled.  An  increase  of  one  more  unit,  representing 
only  one-eleventh  of'  the  original  productive  power,  would  permit 
three  times  the  old  rate  of  expenditure  for  the  less  necessary  and 
higher  things  of  life.  This  simple  mathematical  statement  makes 
clear  some  things,  otherwise  puzzling,  in  modern  industrial  develop¬ 
ment.  It  shows,  in  a  way,  why  increases  in  taxation,  in  the  number 
of  the  official  classes,  and  in  the  expenditures  of  the  people  for  lux¬ 
uries  and  amusements  have  multiplied  many  times  in  recent  years 
without  the  effect,  which  has  been  feared  in  some  quarters,  of  im¬ 
pairing  the  savings  of  the  masses  or  the  wealth  of  the  community. 
While  much  remains  to  be  done,  therefore,  to  increase  the  productive 
power  of  the  world,  and  a  better  distribution  of  the  earnings  of  the 
community  may  become  possible  in  the  future,  it  is  evident  that 
progress  has  been  made  within  the  last  century,  and  especially  within 
the  last  generation,  which  offers  a  bright  promise  for  the  future  of 
humanity. 


352 


OPPORTUNITIES  IN  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

By  JOHN  R.  PROCTOR 
President  of  the  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission 

(Interview) 

IN  OUR  national  life,  the  civil  service  is  a  factor  of  great 
and  constantly  growing  importance.  It  now  gives 
employment  and  adequate  incomes  to  over  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  thousand  persons ;  and  the  number  is  in¬ 
creasing  steadily.  Our  recent  territorial  acquisitions  have, 
of  course,  added  materially  to  the  necessary  executive 
work  of  the  government,  and  have  made  many  new  posi¬ 
tions  in  the  civil  service. 

Thousands  of  young  men  and  women  have  turned  their 
attention  to  it,  asking  themselves  the  question  —  What 
kind  of  a  career  would  the  civil  service  give  me,  and  how 
can  I  obtain  a  place  in  it  ?  My  answer  to  the  first  question 
may  seem  somewhat  trite,  for  1  must  state  that  in  the 
civil  service,  as  in  most  other  spheres  of  activity,  everything  depends 
upon  the  person.  There  is  a  more  or  less  widespread  belief  that  the 
great  majority  of  government  employees,  being  always  subordinate,  with 
work  confined  to  a  fixed  routine,  lose  initiative  power.  Again  I  say 
that  it  all  depends  upon  the  person.  In  the  same  degree  that  much  of 
the  work  is  not  of  the  kind  likely  to  broaden  the  mind  or  stimulate  the 
higher  faculties,  it  may  have  a  deteriorating  effect,  but  this  negative  j 
influence  will  certainly  not  deter  the  young  man  of  stamina  in  the  service  , 
from  self-development.  As  in  any  other  work  that  requires  system  and 
close  application,  he  will  learn  the  value  of  order  and  regularity,  and  will  - 
acquire  mental  discipline  and  special  training.  Many  young  men  and 
women  use  the  civil  service  as  a  stepping-stone.  In  Washington,  lec- 
tures  are  nightly  delivered  at  the  Columbian  and  the  Georgetown  uni-  ^ 
versities,  where  the  departments  of  law,  medicine,  political  economy, 
engineering,  and  chemistry  have  so  arranged  courses  and  hours  for  in-  ^ 
struction  as  to  accommodate  students  employed  during  the  day  in  the  ' 
departments  of  the  government.  Several  hundred  young  men  annually 
graduate  from  these  institutions,  and  the  majority,  ambitious  for  greater 
rewards  than  are  found  in  government  employ,  gradually  resign  their 
clerkships,  and  frequently  rise  to  prominence  in  other  occupations.  It 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


353 


is  a  common  occurrence  for  a  young  man  to  step  from  the  ranks  of 
government  employees  directly  to  an  important  position  in  a  mercantile 
business.. 

But  more  able  young  men  are  remaining  in  the  civil  service  than  for* 
merly,  and  more  are  seeking  places  in  it,  a  condition  which  is  due  chiefly 
to  the  extension  of  the  service  and  the  merit  system  to  our  recently  ac¬ 
quired  possessions.  The  new  territory  requires  new  methods  of  admin¬ 
istration,  and  thus  a  man  in  a  position  of  any  authority  has,  as  a  rule, 
more  opportunities  to  demonstrate  ability  and  originality  than  he  has  in 
the  service  here  at  home,  where  all  methods  have  become  more  or  less 
fixed  by  years  of  procedure.  This  is  why  so  many  of  our  younger  em¬ 
ployees  and  others  are  anxious  to  serve  the  government  in  the  Philip¬ 
pines.  This  desire  is  encouraged.  We  are  anxious  to  obtain  the  best 
possible  ability  in  the  insular  service,  since  the  success  of  the  government 
in  the  Islands  will  depend  chiefly  upon  the  men  who  are  sent  to  admin¬ 
ister  their  affairs. 

We  must  keep  faith  with  the  Filipinos,  whom  we  have  promised  an 
honest,  economical,  and  efficient  government,  and  we  must  make  our 
record  in  colonial  administration  before  the  nations  of  the  world,  who 
are  watching  us  with  jealous  interest.  Our  rule  will  not  be  merely  con¬ 
trasted  with  the  misrule  of  Spain ;  it  will  be  put  in  the  scale  with  the 
admirable  governments  which  Great  Britain  and  Holland  give  to  their  colo¬ 
nies.  In  the  colonial  administration  of  these  countries,  there  are  three 
rules  which  should  have  a  dominating  influence  in  our  own  policy;  there¬ 
fore  I  set  them  down,  as  follows:  First,  the  civil  servants  are  not  dis¬ 
turbed  by  political  changes  in  the  home  government,  the  tenure  of  office 
being  determined  solely  by  good  and  efficient  service ;  second,  the  men 
sent  to  govern  the  colonies  are  selected  because  of  special  fitness,  and  are 
promoted  generally  from  the  small  colonies  to  the  larger,  after  demon¬ 
strating  their  ability  to  deal  with  difficult  problems;  third,  the  officers 
charged  with  collecting  the  revenue,  both  internal  and  customs  duties, 
are  promoted  to  these  places  after  faithful  and  effective  work  in  minor 
grades,  and  are  never  appointed  as  a  reward  for  political  service  at  home. 
The  clerkships  in  the  customs  and  other  departments  are  filled  by  open, 
competitive  examination.  The  pay  in  all  cases  is  commensurate  with 
the  duties  performed ;  persons  in  the  colonial  service  are  prohibited  from 
engaging  in  business  enterprises  in  the  colonies.  , 

Under  the  common-sense  business  methods  suggested  by  the  above 
rules.  Great  Britain  controls  the  once  turbulent  population  of  Jamaica 
with  no  military  aid  but  a  garrison  of  four  hundred  soldiers,  while  Spain, 
using  the  spoils  system,  was  unable  to  keep  Cuba  in  subjection  with  two 
hundred  thousand  men.  With  these  two  examples  looming  up  conspicu¬ 
ously,  no  national  leader  possessed  of  a  grain  of  patriotism  can  be  in 
13—23 


354 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


doubt  an  instant  as  to  what  our  colonial  policy  must  be.  Failure  in  the 
Islands  would  bring  great  calumny  and  reproach  upon  the  fair 
name  of  the  United  States,  and  would  give  us  a  tremendous  setback  in 
national  progress.  We  must  win  new  glory  in  our  control  of  the  weak¬ 
ling  peoples  who  have  come  within  our  care,  and  to  accomplish  this,  the 
government  must  call  to  its  aid  the  best  and  most  representative  young 
American  manhood. 

The  material  it  has  to  choose  from  is  of  the  finest  kind.  We  are 
justified  in  hoping  and  expecting  that  when  our  system  is  thoroughly 
organized  we  shall  excel  even  Great  Britain  and  Holland  in  colonial 
government,  for  the  reason  that  the  training  given  to  young  men  in  this 
country  makes  them  better  qualified  to  grapple  with  new  conditions  than 
does  the  training  received  in  any  other  country.  As  is  well  known, 
young  American  men  are  managing  many  industrial  and  commercial 
enterprises  most  successfully.  It  is  men  of  this  caliber  that  we  want. 
We  must  compete  with  private  concerns  for  their  services,  and  can  hope 
to  obtain  them  only  by  offering  fitting  pay,  and  a  tenure  of  place  and 
opportunities  for  promotion  dependent  solely  upon  efficient  work.  This 
we  expect  to  do. 

The  positions  in  the  insular  administration,  as  in  the  service  gener¬ 
ally,  are  divided  into  parts,  the  classified  and  the  unclassified.  In 
the  former  division  are  all  the  places  which  are  subjected  to  the  Civil 
Service  Act  and  rules.  These  positions  are  filled  by  original  appoint¬ 
ment,  through  examination  and  certification  by  the  Civil  Service  Board; 
by  promotion  of  a  person  in  the  classified  service  to  a  vacant  position  ; 
by  reinstatement  of  a  person  formerly  in  the  service;  and  by  transfer 
from  one  position  to  another. 

Some  of  the  employees  in  the  classified  lists  are  as  follows:  All 
whose  duties  are  principally  those  of  bookkeepers,  chiefs  and  other 
clerks,  draftsmen,  engineers,  examiners,  inspectors,  interpreters,  jani¬ 
tors,  letter-carriers,  machinists,  messengers,  printers,  stenographers, 
and  watchmen,  all  of  whom  are  put  in  one  group.  Another  group  is 
made  up  of  employees  who  possess  higher  general  attainments  or  greater 
technical  knowledge.  Among  these  are:  Heads  of  departments  and  of¬ 
ficers  in  the  municipal  service  in  Manila,  physicians,  bacteriologists, 
chemists,  veterinarians,  civil  engineers,  cashiers,  disbursing  officers,  and 
most  other  incumbents  of  professional,  technical,  and  scientific  positions. 
Skilled  and  unskilled  laborers  are.  also  in  the  classified  division,  being 
employed  in  the  order  of  their  application,  after  an  oral  examination  on 
and  inquiry  into  habits  and  experience. 

The  Philippine  Civil  Service  Board  advises  persons  able  to  fill  only 
such  positions  as  those  of  under  clerks,  messengers,  watchmen,  and  other 
minor  employees,  not  to  seek  service  in  the  Islands.  For  Americans  in 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


355 


clerical  and  other  places  which  Filipinos  are  able  to  fill,  there  will  be 
little  demand,  since  the  government  has  promised  to  employ  as  many 
natives  as  possible.  Moreover,  the  salaries  for  work  of  this  grade  will 
not  be  sufficient  to  warrant  Americans  to  go  to  the  Philippines,  nor  will 
the  examinations  for  these  positions  be  held  in  the  United  States.  For 
places  requiring  special  training  or  ability,  such  as  those  of  stenog¬ 
raphers  and  typewriters,  Spanish  interpreters  and  translators,  book¬ 
keepers,  and  customs  inspectors,  there  is  a  demand,  but  not  so  great  a 
one  as  for  Americans  possessing  professional,  technical,  or  scientific 
training,  or  special  clerical  ability.  It  is  positions  such  as  the  latter  that 
offer  the  best  opportunities  to  Americans  in  the  Philippines.  The  higher 
places,  however,  are  usually  filled  by  promotion,  the  board’s  intention 
being  to  establish  a  permanent  civil  service,  so  administered  that  a  per¬ 
son  who  enters  one  of  the  lovv^er  grades  may,  by  loyal  and  efficient  work, 
secure  promotion  to  the  highest  offices  in  the  service. 

Some  of  the  unclassified  employees,  that  is,  those  who  are  appointed 
without  regard  to  the  Civil  Service  Act,  are  as  follows:  The  treasurer 
of  the  Islands,  the  auditor,  the  collectors  of  customs,  the  collectors  of 
internal  revenue,  the  director  of  posts,  the  head  of  the  bureau  of  for¬ 
estry  and  mines,  the  general  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  the 
members  of  the  CiviF  Service  Board,  the  chief  statistician,  the  cashier 
of  the  collector  of  customs,  the  captain  of  the  Port  of  Manila,  one 
private  secretary  for  the  military  governor  and  one  for  each  member  of  the 
Philippine  Commission,  members  of  the  police  and  fire  departments  of 
Manila,  guards  at  the  prisons  and  penitentiaries,  and  teachers  in  the 
public  schools. 

The  teachers  were  put  in  the  unclassified  list  on  account  of  the  urgent 
need  of  quickly  securing  a  large  number.  These  must  be  either  normal 
school  or  college  graduates,  and  at  the  time  of  their  engagement  must 
be  employed  as  teachers.  The  teachers,  however,  will  sooner  or  later 
be  put  in  the  classified  division.  When  the  condition  on  the  Islands  be¬ 
comes  more  settled,  it  is  expected  that  policemen,  firemen,  and  prison 
guards  will  also  come  under  the  supervision  of  the  board.  Indeed,  it  is 
the  intention  to  ultimately  classify  all  positions  in  the  insular  service, 
with  a  system  of  promotions  for  filling  the  highest  places.  This  end  will 
be  attained  gradually,  as,  by  degrees,  a  thorough  organization  of  an  in¬ 
sular  government  is  effected.  Thus,  in  the  civil  service  ambitious  young 
men  will  find  numerous  positions  worth  aspiring  to,  and  ample  oppor¬ 
tunities  to  reach  them  through  faithful  and  able  work.  The  civil  service 
policy  will,  in  general,  be  the  same  in  the  Philippines,  Porto  Rico,  and 
any  other  territory  that  may  come  under  our  jurisdiction.  In  making 
appointments,  preference  is  given,  other  things  being  equal,  to  natives 
and  honorably  discharged  soldiers  and  sailors. 


356 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


While  examinations  are,  and  will  be,  the  means  of  giving  a  man  his 
initial  footing  in  the  service,  these  examinations  are  not  by  any  means 
all  scholastic.  Tests  of  this  kind  have  been  found  to  answer  the  purpose 
in  selecting  candidates  for  clerical  positions,  but  there  are  many  others 
for  which  a  scholastic  examination  is  wholly  inadequate.  For  work 
which  requires  high  scientific,  professional,  or  executive  qualifications, 
and  for  work  at  trades,  recent  examinations  have  aimed  at  bringing  to 
light,  not  the  amount  of  theoretical  knowledge  which  a  man  may  be  able 
to  spread  on  paper,  but  the  extent  of  his  experience  and  practical  ability. 

In  the  civil  service  at  home,  as  well  as  in  our  new  possessions,  the 
merit  system,  as  opposed  to  the  patronage  system,  is  being  extended 
steadily.  Since  the  enactment  of  the  Civil  Service  Law,  in  1883,  the 
government  has  received  very  much  more  effective  and  economical 
service  from  its  employees,  and  grave  dangers  growing  out  of  the  spoils 
system  have  been  averted.  Because  the  tenure  of  office  has  been  made 
to  depend  upon  competency  and  not  upon  political  influence,  the  level  of 
capability  has  been  greatly  elevated.  Long  observation  has  taught  me 
that  almost  invariably  the  employee  with  the  most  political  influence  is 
the  most  incompetent.  Much  money  has  been  saved  by  the  abolition  of 
useless  offices,  and  the  working  efficiency  of  the  heads  of  departments 
has  been  materially  increased  by  the  fact  that  these  gentlemen  are  not 
now  forced  to  give  a  large  part  of  their  time  and  attention  to  importunate 
place-seekers  with  political  backing. 

The  number  of  places  in  the  United  States  now  filled  by  the  Civil 
Service  Board  approximates  eighty  thousand,  while  those  which  have 
not  yet  been  classified  amount  in  number  to  about  one  hundred  and 
two  thousand.  Of  the  latter,  seventy-one  thousand  are  the  positions  of 
fourth-class  postmasters.  Of  all  of  the  places  in  the  service,  about 
nineteen  thousand  five  hundred  are  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
one  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand  in  other  localities.  The  annual 
aggregate  of  salaries  is  now  about  $104,000,000,  which  expenditure 
shows  an  increase  of  about  $4,000,000,  since  the  Spanish  War. 

Under  the  civil  service  system,  the  government  clerk  has  practically 
a  life  tenure,  if  his  record  be  unassailable.  A  young  man  who  enters  the 
service  at  Washington  when  twenty  years  of  age  is  usually  paid  nine 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  although  in  some  cases  the  initial  salary  is  seven 
hundred  and  twenty,  or  eight  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  At  twenty-five 
he  is  in  all  probability  receiving  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  at  thirty 
he  ought  to  be  drawing  sixteen  hundred  dollars.  The  maximum  salary 
for  clerical  work  is  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  which  is  gained  in  the 
majority  of  cases  only  after  a  long  term  of  service,  the  promotions  from 
sixteen  hundred  to  eighteen  hundred  dollars  being  much  less  frequent 
than  those  from  twelve  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred.  The  candidates  for 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


357 


appointment  who  are  able  to  pass  the  examination  for  stenographers 
are  much  more  sure  of  receiving  places  than  others,  one-fourth  of  the 
demand  upon  the  Civil  Service  Commission  being  for  stenographers  and 
typewriters.  Only  a  small  percentage  are  used  as  such,  but  their  tech¬ 
nical  skill  and  training  give  them  a  superiority  over  other  clerks.  Next 
to  stenographers,  experienced  accountants  and  bookkeepers  are  most  in 
demand.  Such  clerks  are  useful  from  the  beginning,  while  others, 
whose  knowledge  is  chiefly  theoretical,  require  months  of  careful  training. 

During  the  last  fiscal  year,  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  different 
kinds  of  examinations  were  held  for  vacancies  in  the  classified  service. 
The  latter  embraces  the  places  in  the  executive  departments;  the  rail¬ 
way  mail  service,  the  Indian  service,  the  several  pension  agencies,  the 
steamboat  inspection  service,  the  marine  hospital  service,  the  light¬ 
house  service,  the  life-saving  service,  the  several  mints  and  assaying  of¬ 
fices,  the  revenue  cutter  service,  the  force  employed  under  the  custodian 
of  buildings,  positions  in  the  sub-treasuries,  the  engineering  department 
at  large,  the  ordnance  department  at  large,  the  custom  house  service, 
the  post-office  service,  which  includes  the  officers  and  employees  in  all 
free  delivery  post-offices,  the  Government  printing  service,  and  the  in¬ 
ternal  service.  A  few  confidential  employees,  such  as  private  secretaries, 
are  exempt  from  examinations,  as  are  Indians  applying  for  certain  classi¬ 
fied  positions  in  the  Indian  service. 

There  are  three  general  classes  of  examinations.  In  the  first  class 
are  those  for  about  seventy-two  per  cent,  of  the  positions  under  the  super¬ 
vision  of  the  board.  To  pass  the  examinations  in  this  class,  a  common 
school  education  is  a  sufficient  preparation.  The  positions  are  those  of 
clerks  in  the  departments,  in  the  railway  mail  service  and  post-office 
service,  letter-carriers,  and  some  others.  These  examinations  are  di¬ 
vided  into  three  grades.  The  third  grade  requires  merely  the  ability 
to  read,  write,  and  solve  simple  examples  in  whole  numbers.  The  sec¬ 
ond  grade  requires  a  somewhat  higher  general  education,  including  a 
knowledge  of  simple  operations  in  common  and  decimal  fractions.  In 
the  first  grade  is  required  a  knowledge  of  the  use  of  the  English  lan¬ 
guage  in  business  correspondence,  and  such  mathematical  operations,  in¬ 
cluding  interest  and  discount,  as  are  necessary  to  solve  ordinary  business 
problems. 

In  the  second  general  class  of  examinations  are  about  two  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  number.  These  embrace,  in  addition  to  general  education, 
special  or  technical  knowledge,  such  as  is  needed  to  fill  the  positions  of 
stenographers,  draftsmen,  weather  observers,  examiners  of  the  Patent 
Office,  civil  engineers,  and  others.  Most  of  these  positions  demand 
scholastic  ability  above  the  average^  as  well  as  considerable  special 
training  and  experience, 


358 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  third  general  class  are  the  trade  examinations,  embracing  about 
twenty-two  per  cent,  of  all  examinations.  They  involve  no  scholastic 
test.  Applicants  are  accepted  who  prove  themselves  satisfactory  in 
ability  as  workmen,  in  experience  and  in  physical  qualifications.  Only 
men  in  sound  health  are  employed. 

About  fifty  thousand  persons  are  examined  annually  in  the  classified 
service,  of  whom  three-fifths  are  applicants  for  places  in  the  departmental 
service;  one-fifth  for  post-office  places,  and  about  one-eighth  for  the 
customs  service.  About  one  in  four  of  those  who  take  the  examination 
fail  to  obtain  the  mark  of  seventy  per  cent,  necessary  for  a  place  on  the 
eligible  list.  But  the  gaining  of  this  place  is  no  assurance  of  appoint¬ 
ment,  since  only  a  small  percentage  of  those  who  pass  the  examinations 
are  selected.  Candidates  whose  marks  are  highest  are  chosen  first. 
The  term  of  eligibility  is  one  year. 

Since  a  great  many  women  seek  employment  in  the  service,  a  state¬ 
ment  as  to  their  chances  of  appointment  as  compared  to  those  of  men 
may  be  instructive.  This  comparison  is  best  brought  out  by  statistics. 
The  records  of  the  last  decade  show  that  during  this  period  40,928  per¬ 
sons  passed  the  examination  for  post-office  clerks,  which  are  the  only 
places  in  that  department  for  which  both  sexes  may  compete.  Of  this 
number,  8,640  were  women.  About  1,300  were  appointed,  352  of  whom 
were  women.  For  all  positions  for  which  both  men  and  women  are 
eligible,  77,445  persons,  of  whom  16,832  were  women,  have  passed  the 
examinations  during  the  last  ten  years.  Through  these  examinations 
17,844  persons  have  been  appointed,  the  women  among  the  appointees 
numbering  1,663,  or  a  little  over  nine  per  cent.,  while  the  proportion  of 
appointments  among  the  men  has  been  about  twenty-six  per  cent. 
For  positions  for  which  men  are  not  eligible,  7,381  women  have  passed 
the  examinations,  and  1,813  have  been  appointed.  Altogether,  24,213 
women  have  passed  the  civil  service  examinations  during  the  last  ten 
years,  and  3,^76,  or  about  fourteen  per  cent.,  have  been  appointed. 


359 


CIVIL  SERVICE 


Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Government  Employment  —  Tenure  of  Office 
More  Secure  than  Formerly  —  Efficient  Stenographers  and  Typewriters 
Always  in  Demand  —  The  Powers  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  —  Scope 
OF  Examinations  for  Clerical  Appointments  —  Reasons  Why  Men  Are  Pre¬ 
ferred  TO  Women  —  Admissions  to  West  Point  and  Annapolis  —  Candidates 
Appointed  by  President  on  Recommendation  of  Representative  or  Senator 
—  Physical  Examinations  Very  Severe  —  Academic  Examinations  Embrace 
Wide  Range  of  Subjects  —  Pay  of  Military  and  Naval  Cadets. 

* 

There  is  a  popular  belief  that  the  young-  man  who  enters  the  civil 
service  has  made  a  mistake.  It  is  argued  that  promotions  are 
slow,  the  tenure  of  office  uncertain,  and  the  salaries  small.  The 
objections  that  the  experience  gained  is  of  little  value  in  ordinary 
business,  and  that  a  clerk  dismissed  from  the  service  in  middle  life 
is  at  a  disadvantage  with  other  men  trained  to  commercial  pursuits, 
are  perhaps  the  most  forcible.  These  general  views  are  mainly  cor¬ 
rect,  yet  it  is  significant  that  government  appointments  are  eagerly 
sought  by  men,  both  young  and  old.  It  may  be  a  mistake  for  a 
clever  young  man  to  bury  himself  for  years  in  a  government  office, 
to  reach  an  average  salary  of  sixteen  hundred  dollars  a  year;  for  a 
clever  man  might,  in  the  same  time,  greatly  advance  his  fortunes,  and 
attain  a  much  larger  income. 

But  all  men  are  not  clever  in  the  money-making  sense,  nor  are  all 

# 

clever  men  fortunate,  and  to  such  sixteen  hundred  dollars  a  year  is  a 
desirable  income,  larger  than  ordinary  ability  could  earn  outside,  and 
free  from  the  mischances  of  private  business. 

The  tenure  of  office  is  more  secure  now  than  in  former  years, 
when  appointments  were  made  as  rewards  for  political  services,  and 
not  upon  the  ascertained  fitness  of  the  candidate.  Of  the  ten  thou¬ 
sand  clerks  employed  in  the  Executive  Departments  at  Washington 
probably  one-fourth  have  been  in  continuous  service  for  a  score  of 
years  or  longer,  and  quite  as  many,  for  half  of  that  time.  Under  the 
civil  service  system,  a  government  clerk  has  practically  a  life  tenure, 
if  his  record  be  unassailable. 

The  careless  or  shiftless  clerk  —  he  who  does  not  report  promptly 
for  duty,  and  who  seeks  every  opportunity  to  obtain  a  day  off  — 
stands  on  an  insecure  footing  and  is  liable  to  dismissal  at  any  time, 


360 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Such  clerks  seldom  survive  a  change  of  administration,  for  with  the 
incoming  of  new  officials,  the  record  of  all  employees  is  carefully  in¬ 
spected,  and  the  least  desirable,  unless  fortified  by  strong  political 
influence,  are  marked  for  dismissal.  And  in  this  connection  it  should 
be  said  that  the  standard  of  efficiency  is  constantly  rising  in  every 
branch  of  the  government  service.  This  is  because  the  applicants 
for  government  clerkships  are  now  largely  young  men  and  young 
women,  graduates  of  public  schools,  academies,  and  even  universities, 
who  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  higher  education  than  did 
those  who  came  in  under  the  former  system.  It  is  disputed  by  dis¬ 
ciples  of  the  practical  school  of  politics,  that  the  highly  educated 
clerk  renders  better  service  than  one  who  has  had  only  a  grammar 
school  training.  But  it  has  been  proved  that  these  discharge  more 
readily  a  wider  range  of  duties;  they  are  more  amenable  to  discipline, 
and  the  quality  of  their  work  is  distinctly  higher. 

Although  the  intellectual  capacity  of  the  candidate  is  of  prime 
consideration,  another  important  factor  is  his  actual  experience. 
These  are  days  of  specialization  in  business,  and  the  government  is 
following,  so  far  as  it  can,  a  similar  course.  It  is  undeniable  that  a 
candidate  who  has  been  practically  engaged  as  a  stenographer,  type¬ 
writer,  bookkeeper,  or  accountant,  is  better  fitted  for  general  depart¬ 
mental  work  than  one  whose  knowledge  is  merely  theoretical.  Such 
clerks  are  useful  from  the  beginning,  while  the  others  require  months 
of  careful  training.  A  practical  knowledge  of  stenography  and  type¬ 
writing,  other  things  being  equal,  •  is  the  surest  recommendation  to  a 
clerkship  at  Washington,  and  in  the  government  service  generally. 
One-fourth  of  the  demand  upon  the  Civil  Service  Commission  is  for 
stenographers  and  typewriters.  Only  a  small  percentage  are  used  as 
such,  but  their  technical  skill  gives  them  a  superiority  over  their  fel¬ 
low-clerks.  Next  to  stenographers,  experienced  bookkeepers  and  ac¬ 
countants  are  most  esteemed. 

The  demand  for  woman  clerks,  except  in  certain  lines  of  work  for 
which  they  are  especially  adapted,  is  limited.  This  is  not  due  to 
mental  inferiority,  for  women  pass  better  examinations  than  do  men. 
The  records  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  show  a  marking  for 
women  of  five  per  cent,  above  men.  But  usually  they  are  lacking  in 
actual  business  knowledge,  and  this  places  them  at  a  disadvantage. 

A  young  man  who  enters  the  government  service  at  Washington 
when  twenty-one  years  of  age,  would  be  paid  nine  hundred  dollars  a 
year.  In  some  cases,  the  initial  pay  does  not  exceed  seven  hundred 
and  twenty,  or  eight  hundred  and  forty,  dollars,  but  the  average  is 
nine  hundred.  At  twenty-five,  he  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been 
promoted  to  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  at  thirty,  he  ought  to  be 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


361 


drawing  sixteen  hundred  dollars.  The  maximum  salary  for  clerical 
work  is  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  and  this  is  gained,  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  only  after  a  long  term  of  service,  the  promotions  from  six¬ 
teen  hundred  to  eighteen  hundred  dollars  being  less  frequent  than 
those  from  twelve  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred  dollars.  In  the  matter 
of  vacations,  the  government  clerk  is  exceptionally  favored.  He-  is 
entitled  to  an  annual  leave  of  thirty  days,  with  pay,  and  by  a  little 
skillful  manoeuvering,  the  time  is  frequently  extended  to  five  weeks. 
He  may,' in  addition,  be  absent  another  thirty  days  on  sick  leave, 
with  his  pay  continued,  if  he  furnishes  a  physician’s  certificate  of  in¬ 
ability  to  perform  his  duties.  It  must  be  remembered,  also,  that  the 
departments  are  closed  on  Sundays,  and  on  legal  holidays. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  man  of  modest  tastes,  who  is  con¬ 
tent  to  drift  quietly  along  the  smooth  currents  of  life,  with  no  in¬ 
clination  for  a  business  career,  for  the  excitement  of  ^^the  street,  or 
the  uncertain  rewards  of  politics,  would  be  fortunate  to  receive  a 
government  appointment  at  Washington.  Such  a  man  could  well  take 
issue  with  him  who  called  his  vocation  a  mistake,  and  from  his  sure 
position  could  argue  eloquently  that  his  career,  while  lacking  brilliancy, 
and  great  pecuniary  gain,  offered  a  refreshing  contrast  to  the  strenu¬ 
ous  life,  or  to  the  feverish  pursuit  of  fame  or  wealth,  that  too  often 
ends  in  failure.  He  could  show,  additionally,  that  his  easy  office 
hours,  from  nine  to  four,  afforded  him  abundant  opportunity  for 
mental  profit.  In  Washington,  for  example,  lectures  are  nightly  de¬ 
livered  at  the  Columbian  and  the  Georgetown  Universities,  where  the 
departments  of  law,  medicine,  political  economy,  engineering,  and 
chemistry,  have  their  courses  and  hours  for  instruction  so  arranged 
as  to  accommodate  students  employed  during  the  day  in  the  Ex¬ 
ecutive  Departments.  From  these  institutions,  several  hundred  young 
men  annually  graduate.  Some  retain  their  clerkships  after  gradua¬ 
tion,  from  a  reluctance  to  leave  the  fascinations  of  Washington  life 
to  practise  their  acquired  professions  in  less  attractive  localities;  but 
these  are  the  exceptions. 

Upon  his  office  record,  depends  the  clerk’s  advancement,  for  politi¬ 
cal  influence  is  becoming,  year  after  year,  less  effective  in  securing 
promotions.  If  the  clerk  be  attentive  to  business  and  show  a  desire 
to  master  the  details  of  his  work,  he  has  taken  a  long  stride  toward 
an  increase  of  salary.  Much  depends  upon  his  good  fortune  in  at¬ 
tracting  the  attention  of  his  superiors.  Sometimes  men  of  exceptional 
ability  are  assigned  to  duties  that  hide  them  from  the  official  eye  for 
years,  so  that  it  is  long  before  their  services  are  recognized  and  re¬ 
warded.  But  these  instances  are  rare.  Speaking  generally,  the  busy, 
wide-awake,  up-to-date  clerk,  who  is  not  afraid  of  work,  but  who  is, 


362 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


rather,  always  looking  for  it,  reaches  the  top  of  the  departmental  lad¬ 
der  in  a  short  term  of  years.  Sometimes  it  comes  sooner,  as  the  fol¬ 
lowing  e..:ample  will  show :  — 

One  morning,  before  the  regular  office  hours,  the  assistant  secre¬ 
tary  of  a  department  at  Washington  called  for  a  stenographer.  Half 
a  dozen  messengers  went  scurrying  through  the  corridors,  and  their 
united  search  resulted  in  finding  one  clerk,  a  young  man  recently  ap¬ 
pointed,  who  was  already  at  his  desk,  arranging  the  details  of  the 
day’s  work.  The  assistant  secretary  was  so  impressed  by  that  circum¬ 
stance,  as  well  as  by  the  skill  and  intelligence  of  the  stranger,  that  a 
few  weeks  later,  when  a  new  office,  carrying  a  salary  of  two  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  was  created,  it  was  given  to  the  young  stenographer. 

It  will  now  be  timely  to  explain  how  appointments  in  the  civil 
service  at  Washington  are  made.  From  the  foundation  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  until  1883,  the  clerkships  in  the  Executive  Departments 
were  controlled  by  politicians.  What  are  we  here  for,  except  for 
the  offices,  exclaimed  a  delegate  at  a  presidential  convention,  less 
than  a  score  of  years  ago,  and  the  storm  of  applause  that  followed 
his  query  showed  that  he  had  struck  a  responsive  chord  in  the 
breasts  of  those  present.  In  those  days,  men  were  appointed  to 
clerkships,  and  to  minor  official  positions,  as  a  reward  for  their  po¬ 
litical  activity,  while  efficient  clerks,  without  political  influence,  were 
ruthlessly  dismissed,  to  be  too  often  succeeded  by  inexperienced, 
and  even  incompetent  party  workers.  One  result  only  was  possible 
—  the  public  service  was  greatly  -demoralized,  the  clerks  were  ter¬ 
ror-stricken  at  each  quadrennial  election,  and  the  standard  of  work 
was  very  far  below  that  of  a  well-regulated  business  house.  Whence 
it  followed,  after  a  long  agitation,  that  Congress  in  1883  passed  what 
is  known  as  the  civil  service  law.  The  act  created  a  United  States 
Civil  Service  Commission,  composed  of  three  members,  not  more  than 
two  of  whom  may  be  adherents  of  the  same  political  party.  The  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  law  is  to  establish,  under  rules  prepared  by  the  Commis¬ 
sion,  a  system  of  appointments  to  the  governmental  service  based  upon 
the  intelligence  and  fitness  of  candidates,  without  regard  to  political 
considerations.  Properly  to  carry  out  this  purpose,  a  plan  of  competi¬ 
tive  examinations  was  prescribed. 

The  term  classified  service  indicates  the  appointments  which 
come  within  those  provisions  of  the  civil  service  law  that  require 
appointments  to  be  made  upon  examination  and  certification  by  the 
Commission.  The  term  unclassified  service  applies  to  those  ap¬ 
pointments  that  are  not  affected  by  the  law,  and  these,  therefore,  are 
made  without  competitive  examination,  and  usually  on  the  old  plan. 
The  classified  service  has  been  gradually  extended  until  now  it 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


363 


includes  about  90,000  positions,  leaving  about  110,000  positions  unclas¬ 
sified.  The  unclassified  list  is  mainly  composed  of  those  who  perform 
unskilled  manual  labor.  Under  the  terms  of  the  law,  positions  out¬ 
side  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  government,  or  to  which  appoint¬ 
ment  is  made  by  the  President,  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and 
positions  of  mere  unskilled  manual  labor,  are  not  required  to  be  clas¬ 
sified.  Within  these  limitations  the  President  is  authorized,  in  his 
discretion,  to  extend  the  classified  service.  During  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1900,  no  less  than  10,000  classified  appointments  were 
made,  showing  the  hold  the  new  system  has  already  gained. 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  has  no  power  of  appointment  or 
removal;  that  power  is  left  where  it  was  before,  in  the  President  or 
in  the  heads  of  Departments.  Upon  requisition  of  an  appointing 
officer,  the  Commission  certifies  eligibles  secured  as  the  result  of  a 
competitive  examination.  From  the  eligibles  thus  provided,  the 
appointing  officer  makes  his  selection  and  appointment.  When  the  Com¬ 
mission  certifies  three  eligibles  for  any  particular  position,  the  appoint¬ 
ing  officer  has  absolute  discretion  in  making  the  selection,  except  that 
the  rules  require  that  it  shall  be  made  without  regard  to  political  con¬ 
siderations.  No  person  is  eligible  to  an  examination:  — 

Who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ; 

Who  is  physically  disqualified  for  the  service  he  seeks ; 

Who  is  addicted  to  the  habitual  use  of  intoxicating  beverages,  to  excess ; 

Who  is  enlisted  in  the  United  States  Army  or  Navy,  and  has  not  secured  permission  for 
his  examination  from  the  Secretary  of  War  or  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy; 

Who  has  been  dismissed  from  the  public  service  for  delinquency  or  misconduct  within  one 
year  preceding  the  date  of  his  application ; 

Who  has  failed,  after  probation,  to  receive  an  absolute  appointment  to  the  position  for 
which  he  again  applied  within  one  year  from  the  expiration  of  his  probationary  service  ; 

Who  within  one  year  has  taken  the  same  kind  of  examination  for  which  he  wishes  to 
again  apply :  provided,  that  persons  who  pass  or  fail  in  an  examination  may,  upon  filing  a  new 
application,  be  reexamined  at  the  next  annual  examination,  though  a  full  year  has  not  quite 
elapsed  since  the  former  examination  ; 

Who  has  made  a  false  statement  in  his  application,  or  has  been  guilty  of  fraud  or  deceit 
in  any  manner  connected  with  his  application  or  examination,  or  who  has  been  guilty  of  crime, 
or  of  infamous  or  notoriously  disgraceful  conduct. 


The  age  limitations  for  entrance  to  positions  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  service  are  given  on  the  following  page. 

The  regular  examinations  for  the  Departmental,  and  Government 
Printing,  branches  of  the  service  are  held  in  the  spring  and  autumn 
The  spring  examinations  occur  usually  in  the  months  of  March  and 
April,  and  the  autumn  examinations  in  September  and  October.  The 
Internal  Revenue  examinations  are  held  only  in  the  aututnn.  Infor¬ 
mation  as  to  appointments  in  custom-houses  and  post-offices  may  be 
gained  by  inquiry  at  those  places. 


3^4 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Age  Limitations 


Minimum 

Maximum 

Departmental  Branch: — 

Page,  messenger  boy,  apprentice,  or  student . 

14 

20 

Printer’s  assistant  and  messenger . 

18 

No  limit 

Positions  in  the  Railway  Mail  Service . 

18 

25 

Hospital  stewards  in  the  Marine  Hospital  Service . 

21 

30 

Cadet  in  the  Revenue  Cutter  Service,  and  aid  in  the  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey . 

18 

25 

Surfman  in  the  Tile  Saving  Service . 

18 

45 

Superintendent,  physician,  supervisor,  day  school  inspector, 
and  assistant  inspector,  of  hulls,  and  inspector,  and  assist¬ 
ant  inspector,  of  boilers  in  the  Steamboat  Inspection  Serv¬ 
ice  . 

25 

20 

55 

No  limit 

All  other  positions . 

(  The  age  limitation  does  not  apply  in  the  case  of  the  wife  of  the 
superintendent  of  an  Indian  school  who  applies  for  examination  for 
the  position  of  teacher  or  matron.) 

Custom-house  Branch  :  — 

All  positions . 

20 

No  limit 

Post-office  Branch  :  — 

lyCtter  carrier . 

21 

40 

All  other  positions . 

18 

No  limit 

Government  Printing  Branch  :  — 

All  positions  (male) . . 

21 

No  limit 

All  positions  (female) . 

18 

No  limit 

Internal  Revenue  Branch  :  — 

All  positions  •. . 

21 

No  limit 

The  application  blank  and  Manual  for  the  Departmental,  Govern¬ 
ment  Printing,  and  Internal  Revenue,  branches  of  the  classified 
service  may  be  obtained  by  writing  directly  to  the  United  States  Civil 
Service  Commission,  Washington,  D.  C.  Every  applicant  must,  how¬ 
ever,  write  for  his  own  application  blank,  as  it  is  contrary  to  the 
practice  of  the  Commission  to  forward  blanks  to  one  person  for  the 
use  of  another. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  seek  the  aid  of  prominent,  or  presumably 
influential,  persons  to  secure  an  application  blank  or  an  examination ; 
and  no  recommendations  other  than  those  provided  for  by  the  Com¬ 
mission  should  be  forwarded,  as  the  rules  forbid  the  filing  or  any 
such  letters  with  the  application. 

No  person  will  be  admitted  to  a  scheduled  examination  who  has 
not  previously  filed,  on  the  form  furnished  by  the  Commission  upon 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


365 


request  of  the  applicant,  the  proper  application  for  the  particular  ex¬ 
amination  that  he  seeks.  For  some  examinations,  a  supplementary 
blank  will  be  required  in  addition  to  the  regular  application  blank, 
and  both  blanks  must  be  executed,  and  forwarded  to  the  Commission. 

Full  instructions  for  the  execution  of  the  application  will  be  found 
on  the  blank  itself,  and  applicants  are  cautioned  to  answer  all  ques¬ 
tions,  and  to  conform  in  all  respects  to  the  printed  instructions.  A 
failure  to  do  this  causes  unnecessary  delays,  and  great  annoyance  to 
the  applicant,  as  well  as  to  the  Commission.  Very  many  applications 
have  to  be  returned  for  correction,  on  account  of  carelessness  in  the 
execution  of  the  application  or  its  appended  vouchers. 

Applicants  for  the  Departmental  and  Government  Printing  branches 
of  the  classified  service  may  be  examined  at  places,  selected  from  the 
schedule,  outside  of  their  own  state,  if  more  convenient,  provided  the 
date  and  place  selected  for  examination  be  indicated  in  the  appli¬ 
cation  ;  but  applicants  for  the  Custom-house,  Internal  Revenue,  or  Post- 
office  branches  of  the  classified  service  must  be  examined  in  the 
custom-house  or  internal  revenue  districts,  or  at  the  post-office,  in 
which  they  desire  employment. 

Persons  who  are  examined,  whether  they  pass  or  fail,  are  not 
eligible  to  reexamination  for  the'  same  position,  or  for  any  position 
covered  by  the  same  examination,  until  approximately  one  year  after 
the  date  of  the  former  examination.  Unless  the  needs  of  the  service 
require  otherwise,  special  reexaminations  within  a  year  will  be  granted 
only  in  cases  in  which  injustice  has  been  suffered  by  act  of  the  Com¬ 
mission  or  one  of  its  agents.  When  an  applicant  has  been  unable  to 
do  himself  justice  on  account  of  illness  occurring  after  the  com¬ 
mencement,  and  during  the  progress,  of  the  examination,  such  appli¬ 
cant  may,  upon  filing  a  new  application,  be  reexamined  at  the  next 
regular  examination,  provided  he  has  submitted  a  sworn  statement  of 
the  alleged  facts  which  will  justify  the  Commission  in  granting  the 
reexamination.  An  applicant  who  is  recovering  from  illness  must 
abide  by  the  result  of  his  examination,  whether  or  not  he  states  in  his 
declaration  sheet  that  he  is  physically  unable  to  do  himself  justice. 

No  application  for  the  Railway  Mail  Service  will  be  approved 
when  the  applicant  is  shown  to  be  less  than  5  feet  4  inches  in  height 
or  less  than  125  pounds  in  weight,  or  to  have  any  disqualifying  phys¬ 
ical  defects. 

No  application  for  any  one  of  the  mechanical  trades  in  the  Gov¬ 
ernment  Printing  Office  will  be  approved  unless  the  applicant  is 
shown  to  have  served  at  least  five  years  at  the  trade  for  which  he 
applies,  three  of  which  years  he  must  have  served  as  an  apprentice, 
and  at  least  one  year  as  a  journeyman. 


366 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  general  scholastic  subjects  of  any  examinations,  such  as  spell¬ 
ing,  arithmetic,  letter- writing,  and  copying  from  plain  copy,  are  of 
three  grades  or  degrees  of  difficulty,  known  as  first,  second,  and  third 
grades  —  the  first  grade  being  the  most  difficult  and  the  third  grade 
the  least  difficult.  More  importance  is  attached  to  the  examination  in 
arithmetic  than  to  that  in  any  other  subject.  The  following  ques¬ 
tions  and  tests  indicate  the  general  character  of  this  examination :  — 


Arithmetic. —  This  question  comprises  a  test  in  adding  numbers  crosswise  and  lengthwise. 
There  are  usually  three  columns  of  about  twelve  numbers  each  to  be  added.  Divide  475^5  by 
71,  multiply  the  quotient  by  3I,  and  to  the  product  add  0.0907  of  214.6.  A  grocer  sold  goods  to 
a  customer,  amounting  to  ^352,  by  weights  averaging  15^4^  ounces  to  the  pound.  He  afterward 
sold  to  the  same  customer  goods  amounting  to  ^320,  by  weights  averaging  i6l4  ounces  to  the 
pound.  How  much  did  the  grocer  make  or  lose  by  the  false  weights  ?  The  appropriation  for 
the  Civil  Service  Commission  for  the  fiscal  year,  ended  June  30,  1897,  was  $98,340.  During  that 
year  50,000  persons  were  examined.  If  34  per  cent,  of  this  number  failed  to  pass,  and  17%  per 
cent,  of  those  who  passed  w'ere  appointed,  what  was  the  average  cost  to  the  government  of  each 
appointment  ?  A  sum  of  money  placed  at  simple  interest  amounted  in  i  year  and  6  months  to 
$2,687.50.  If  it  had  remained  at  the  same  rate  of  interest  for  six  months  longer,  it  would  have 
amounted  to  $2,750.  What  was  the  rate  of  interest  per  annum  ? 

Spelling  Is  Dictated  by  the  Exai7iiner. —  The  words  are  written  by  the  competitor  in  the 
blank  spaces  indicated  on  the  first  sheet  of  the  examination  paper.  The  examiner  pronounces 
each  word  and  gives  its  definition. 

Letter  Writing. —  The  competitor  is  permitted  to  write  on  either  of  two  subjects  given. 
The  following  subject  has  been  used :  Write  a  letter  of  not  less  than  150  words,  giving  your 
views  as  to  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  employment  in  the  departmental  service  in 
Washington. 

Penmanship.— mark  on  penmanship  is  determined  by  legibility,  rapidity,  neatness,  and 
general  appearance,  and  by  correctness  and  uniformity  in  the  formation  of  words,  letters,  and 
punctuation  marks,  in  the  exercise  of  copying  from  plain  copy.  No  particular  style  of  penman¬ 
ship  is  preferred. 

Copying  from  Plain  Chyb/.— Paragraph,  spell,  capitalize,  and  punctuate  precisely  as  in  the 
copy.  All  omissions  and  mistakes  will  be  considered  in  marking  the  subject. 

Geography. —  This  examination  is  designed  to  show  the  candidate’s  general  knowledge  of 
the  subject. 

The  examination  in  second-grade  subjects  is  simpler  than  the 
foregoing,  while  the  examination  in  third-grade  subjects  is  one  that 
should  readily  be  mastered  by  any  intelligent  boy  or  girl  who  has 
passed  through  the  grammar  school. 

The  age  limit  for  candidates  for  stenographic  appointments  is  not 
less  than  twenty  years.  The  time  allowed  for  the  examination  is  five 
and  a  half  hours,  of  which  one  and  a  half  hours  are  allowed  to  tran¬ 
scribe  the  stenographic  notes.  The  commencing  salary  is  from  $600 
to  $1,000  a  year. 

The  practical  test  in  stenography  consists  of  two  exercises,  a  letter 
and  a  speech,  each  containing  260  words.  The  dictations  are  given 
to  all  the  competitors  together.  In  order  to  familiarize  the  competi¬ 
tors  with  the  examiner’s  manner  of  dictation,  a  prelimmary  test  is 
given  at  the  rate  of  80  words  a  minute.  This  preliminary  test  is  not 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


367 


to  be  considered  a  part  of  the  examination,  and  should  not  be  tran¬ 
scribed.  The  regular  exercises  (a  letter  and  a  speech  are  considered 
as  one  exercise)  will  then  be  dictated  at  different  rates  of  speed,  as 
follows:  80  words,  100  words,  120  words,  and  140  words  a  minute. 
A  rating  of  70  per  cent,  in  speed  will  be  given  when  the  dictation  is 
at  the  rate  of  80  words  per  minute,  80  per  cent,  for  100  words,  90 
per  cent,  for  120  words,  and  100  per  cent,  for  140  or  more  words  per 
minute.  The  speed  competitors  will  be  permitted  to  enter  the  regular 
tests  at  as  many  different  rates  of  speed  as  they  may  desire,  but  they 
will  be  required  at  the  conclusion  of  the  tests  to  select  the  exercise 
which  they  wish  to  transcribe,  and  to  have  considered  in  the  rating. 
The  notes  may  be  transcribed  either  in  longhand  or  with  the  type¬ 
writer.  An  applicant  for  this  examination  who  desires  to  have  his 
name  entered  also  on  the  departmental  clerk  register  of  eligibles, 
should  apply  for  the  clerk-stenographer  examination.  In  this  case,  he 
is  required  to  take  the  first-grade  spelling  and  first-grade  copying 
from  plain  copy,  in  addition  to  the  stenographic  subjects.  For  these 
subjects,  forty-five  minutes  additional  time  will  be  allowed.  Only 
one  application  is  required  for  the  combined  examination. 

It  is  not  possible  to  estimate  the  prospects  of  an  eligible  for  ap¬ 
pointment,  and  an  attempt  to  predict  when  names  will  be  reached  for 
certification  is  certain  to  result  in  disappointment.  The  law  requires 
examinations  to  be  held,  but  the  passing  of  an  examination  does  not 
insure  either  certification  or  appointment.  The  conditions  of  appoint¬ 
ment  in  the  various  branches  of  the  service  are  such  that  nothing  can 
help,  and  nothing  can  hinder,  the  certification  of  a  name  in  the  order 
of  its  standing  on  a  register.  As  the  highest  possible  mark  is  100, 
and  the  lowest  that  gives  eligibility  is  70,  it  follows  that  the  nearer  a 
mark  is  to  100,  the  more  likely  it  is  that  the  person  may  be  reached 
for  certification  within  the  period  of  eligibility,  one  year.  There  are 
usually  on  the  registers  more  eligibles  having  ordinary  qualifications 
than  are  required  for  appointment.  Under  the  civil  service  rules,  the 
appointing  officers  are  the  final  judges  of  the  qualifications  of  the 
persons  selected  for  appointment,  and  with  their  proper  exercise 
of  this  lawful  discretion,  the  Commission  cannot  interfere.  No  eligi¬ 
ble  can  be  certified  for  appointment  to  the  same  department  or  office 
more  than  three  times  from  one  examination. 

Entrance  to  the  departmental  service  is  usually  in  the  lowest 
grades,  the  higher  grades  being  filled  generally  by  promotion.  The 
prospect  of  promotion  varies  so  much  in  the  different  departments 
that  no  special  information  on  the  subject  can  be  given.  The  usual 
entrance  grade  commands  a  salary  of  $900  a  year,  yet  the  applicant 
may  be  appointed  at  $840,  $720,  or  even  $600  only. 


368 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


There  are  very  few  particular  appropriations  for  stenographers, 
typewriters,  bookkeepers,  draftsmen,  and  other  specialized  employ¬ 
ments,  and  persons  who  pass  these  examinations  are  usually  appointed 
with  the  designation  of  clerks  or  copyists.  The  supply  of  male  eligi- 
bles  in  stenography  and  typewriting  is  seldom  equal  to  the  demand; 
and  male  applicants,  proficient  as  stenographers  and  typewriters,  have 
much  better  prospect  of  appointment  than  have  other  applicants. 

During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1900,  no  woman  was  appointed 
from  the  clerk  register  to  any  of  the  departments  at  Washington.  In 
typewriting,  only  those  women  who  pass  at  a  rating  above  88  per 
cent,  have  any  prospect  of  appointment. 

As  the  number  of  persons  examined  for  the  Railway  Mail  Service 
is  far  in  excess  of  the  number  appointed,  only  those  who  stand  high 
on  the  registers  have  any  prospect  of  certification.  Eligibles  who  are 
rated  below  88  per  cent.,  except  from  the  states  and  territories  of 
small  population,  have  little  prospect  of  appointment. 

The  act  establishing  the  U.  S.  civil  service  commission,  commonly 
known  as  the  civil  service  law,  was  passed  in  1883.  By  its  terms  the 
commission  is  composed  of  three  members,  not  more  than  two  of 
whom  shall  belong  to  the  same  political  party.  The  act  provides  for 
rules  to  be  promulgated  by  the  President,  these  rules  to  have,  with 
the  commission  and  the  heads  of  the  departments  and  offices,  all  the 
force  of  the  law  itself.  The  primary  and  fundamental  purpose  of 
both  law  and  rules  is  to  establish  in  the  public  service  within  their 
scope,  a  merit  system,  by  which  selections  for  appointments  shall  be 
made  with  reference  solely  to  demonstrated  qualifications,  and  with¬ 
out  regard  to  the  political  affiliations  of  the  aspirants  or  their  friends. 
To  give  effect  to  this  purpose,  competitive  examinations  are  required 
and  held.  Under  the  term  classified  service  are  included  those 
parts  of  the  service  which  are  within  the  provisions  of  the  civil  serv¬ 
ice  laws  and  rules,  and  the  unclassified  service  embraces  all  the 
appointments  that  may  be  made  without  examination  and  certification 
by  the  commission.  Positions  outside  the  executive  branch  of  the 
Government,  positions  to  which  appointment  is  made  by  the  President 
and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and  positions  of  mere  unskilled  manual 
labor,  need  not  be  classified.  Such  excluded,  the  President  has  au¬ 
thority  to  direct,  in  his  discretion,  the  heads  of  offices  and  departments 
to  extend  the  classified  service,  and  it  has  been  so  extended  until  now 
it  includes  fully  78,000  positions.  President  McKinley,  in  May,  1899, 
directed  that  about  5,000  positions  be  excepted  and  removed  from  the 
classified  service  and  this  was  done.  The  commission  is  not  empow¬ 
ered  to  classify  any  positions  except  those  in  its  own  force.  In  the 
executive  department,  still  unclassified,  are  these:  consular  service, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


369 


non-free  delivery  post-offices,  government  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
and  of  the  Territories,  the  congressional  library,  census  bureau  and 
some  less  important  branches  of  the  service.  A  few  positions  once 
classified  have,  as  has  been  shown,  been  excepted  from  examination. 
There  are  a  few  others,  to  which  appointments  may  be  made  on  non¬ 
competitive  examinations.  The  commission  has  no  power  of  appoint¬ 
ment  or  removal;  that  power  resides  in  the  President  and  heads  of 
departments,  as  it  did  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  Civil  Service  Law. 
The  commission,  on  the  requisition  of  an  appointing  officer,  names 
eligibles  as  determined  by  a  competitive  examination,  and  from  these 
this  officer  makes  his  selections  and  the  appointments  follow.  As 
soon  as  the  commission  has  certified  three  eligibles  for  any  particular 
position,  the  appointing  officer  has  full  discretion  in  choosing  from 
such  eligibles,  provided  always  that  he  is  uninfluenced  by  political 
considerations.  With  the  certification,  the  commission’s  duty  ends, 
except  that  it  has  power  to  investigate  and  report  on  any  irregularity 
in  appointment  or  removal.  There  are  three  ways  of  filling  a  vacancy ; 
by  original  appointment  following  an  examination  and  certification 
by  the  commission ;  by  transfer  or  promotion  from  certain  other  posi¬ 
tions  in  the  classified  service,  or  by  reinstatement  of  some  person 
within  a  year  of  his  retirement,  if  retired  without  official  misconduct. 
In  the  cases  of  honorably  discharged  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Civil 
War  and  their  widows,  and  army  nurses  of  the  Rebellion,  this  limita¬ 
tion  is  waived.  The  commission,  for  the  convenience  of  the  public 
and  that  it  may  act  with  due  celerity  on  the  greater  number  of  posi¬ 
tions  in  the  classified  service,  holds  examinations  on  schedule  dates 
throughout  the  U.  S.  The  only  advanee  notices  of  the  dates  are 
those  given  in  the  newspapers,  and  no  information  of  the  scope  or 
character  of  the  proposed  examination  is  furnished,  except  such  as  is 
given  in  the  Civil  Service  Manual  which  is  obtainable  by  anyone 
on  application. 


Appointments  to  West  Point  and  Annapolis 

The  civil  service  law  does  not  apply  to  admission  to  the  military 
and  the  naval  academies.  Appointments  to  these  institutions  are 
made  as  formerly,  upon  the  nomination  of  the  representative  in  Con¬ 
gress  in  whose  district  the  applicant  lives,  and  each  of  the  two  sena¬ 
tors  from  each  state  is  now  entitled  to  a  nomination,  as  is  also  eaeh 
territorial  delegate.  There  are,  in  addition,  a  number  of  appoint¬ 
ments  from  the  country  at  large,  which  are  directly  made  by  the 
President.  To  West  Point,  the  annual  number  of  such  presidential 
appointments  is  thirty;  to  Annapolis  the  number  is  ten. 

13—24 


370 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


No  candidate  will  be  admitted  to  West  Point  who  is  under  seven¬ 
teen,  or  above  twenty-two,  years  of  age,  or  who  is  deformed,  or 
afflicted  with  any  disease  or  infirmity  which  would  render  him  unfit 
for  military  service,  or  who  has  at  the  time  of  presenting  himself, 
any  disorder  of  an  infectious  or  immoral  character.  Accepted  candi¬ 
dates,  if  between,  seventeen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  should  not  fall 
below  five  feet  three  inches  in  height  and  one  hundred  pounds  in 
weight;  if  between  eighteen  and  nineteen  years,  five  feet  three  and 
one-half  inches  in  height  and  one  hundred  and  five  pounds  in  weight; 
if  more  than  nineteen,  five  feet  four  inches  in  height  and  one  hundred 
and  ten  pounds  in  weight.  Candidates  must  be  unmarried.  They 
must  be  proficient  in  reading,  in  writing,  including  orthography,  and 
in  arithmetic,  and  must  have  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  English 
grammar,  of  descriptive  geography  (particularly  of  our  own  country), 
and  of  the  history  of  the  United  States. 

.  Every  candidate  is  subjected  to  a  rigid  physical  examination,  and 
if  there  is  found  to  exist  in  him  any  of  the  following  causes  of  dis¬ 
qualification,  to  such  a  degree  as  would  immediately,  or  at  no  very 
distant  period,  impair  his  efficiency,  he  is  rejected:  — 

Feeble  constitution ;  unsound  health  from  whatever  cause  ;  indications  of  former  dis¬ 
ease  ;  glandular  swellings,  or  other  symptoms  of  scrofula. 

Chronic  cutaneous  affections,  especially  of  the  scalp. 

Severe  injuries  of  the  bones  of  the  head ;  convulsions. 

Impaired  vision,  from  whatever  cause  ;  inflammatory  affections  of  the  eyelids  ;  immobility 
or  irregularity  of  iris ;  fistula  lachrymalis,  etc. 

Deafness  ;  copious  discharge  from  the  ears. 

Loss  of  many  teeth,  or  the  teeth  generally  unsound. 

Impediment  of  speech. 

Want  of  due  capacity  of  the  chest,  and  any  other  indication  of  a  liability  to  a  pulmonic 
disease. 

Impaired  or  inadequate  efficiency  of  one  or  both  of  the  superior  extremities  owing  to  frac¬ 
tures,  especially  of  the  clavicle  ;  contraction  or  incurvature  of  the  spine. 

Hernia. 

A  varicose  state  of  the  veins  of  the  scrotum  or  spermatic  cord  (when  large),  hydrocele, 
hemorrhoids,  fistulas. 

Impaired  or  inadequate  efficiency  of  one  or  both  of  the  inferior  extremities  owing  to  vari¬ 
cose  veins,  fractures,  malformation  (flat  feet,  etc.),  lameness,  contraction,  unequal  length,  bun¬ 
ions,  overlying  or  supernumerary  toes,  etc. 

Ulcers,  or  unsound  cicatrices  of  ulcers,  likely  to  break  out  afresh. 

In  reading,  candidates  must  be  able  to  read  understandingly, 
with  proper  accent  and  emphasis. 

In  writing  and  orthography,  they  must  be  able,  from  dictation,  to 
write  sentences  from  standard  pieces  of  English  literature,  both  prose 
and  poetry,  sufficient  in  number  to  test  their  qualifications  both  in 
handwriting  and  orthography.  They  must  also  be  able  to  write  and 
to  spell  correctly,  from  dictation,  a  certain  number  of  standard  test 
words. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


371 


In  arithmetic,  they  must  be  able :  — 


To  explain,  accurately  and  clearly,  its  objects,  and  the  manner  of  writing  and  reading 
numbers  —  entire,  fractional,  compound,  or  denominate. 

To  perform  with  facility  and  accuracy  the  various  operations  of  addition,  subtraction,  multi¬ 
plication,  and  division  of  whole  numbers,  abstract  and  compound  or  denominate  ;  giving  the 
rule  for  each  operation,  with  its  reasons,  and  also  for  the  different  methods  of  proving  the  ac¬ 
curacy  of  the  work. 

To  explain  the  meaning  of  reduction;  its  different  kinds;  its  application  to  denominate 
numbers  in  reducing  them  from  a  higher  to  a  lower  denomination,  and  the  reverse,  and  the 
equivalent  decimals;  to  give  the  rule  for  each  case,  with  its  reasons,  and  to  apply  readily  these 
rules  to  practical  examples  of  each  kind. 

To  explain  the  nature  of  prime  numbers,  and  factors  of  a  number ;  of  a  common  divisor  of 
two  or  more  numbers,  particularly  of  their  greatest  common  divisor,  with  its  use,  and  to  give 
the  rule,  with  its  reasons,  for  obtaining  it ;  also  the  meaning  of  a  common  multiple  of  several 
numbers,  particularly  of  their  least  common  multiple,  and  its  use,  and  to  give  the  rule,  with  its 
reason,  for  obtaining  it,  and  to  apply  each  of  these  rules  to  examples. 

To  explain  the  nature  of  fractions,  common  or  vulgar,  and  decimal ;  to  define  the  various 
kinds  of  fractions,  with  the  distinguishing  properties  of  each ;  to  give  all  the  rules  for  their 
reduction,  particularly  from  mixed  to  improper  fractions  and  the  reverse ;  from  compound  or 
complex  to  simple  fractions;  to  their  lowest  terms,  to  a  common  denominator;  from  common 
to  decimal,  and  the  reversal,  for  their  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,  and  division,  with 
the  reason  for  each  change  of  rule,  and  to  apply  each  rule  to  examples. 

To  define  the  terms  ratio  and  proportion ;  to  give  the  properties  of  proportion,  and  the 
rules,  and  their  reasons,  for  stating  and  solving  questions  in  both  simple  and  compound  pro¬ 
portion,  or  single  and  double  rule  of  three,  and  to  apply  these  rules  to  examples. 

The  candidates  must  not  only  know  the  principles  and  rules  re¬ 
ferred  to  above,  but  they  are  required  to  possess  a  thorough  under¬ 
standing  of  all  the  fundamental  operations  of  arithmetic  that  will 
enable  them  to  combine  the  various  principles  in  the  solution  of  any 
complex  problem  which  can  be  solved  by  the  methods  of  arithmetic. 
In  other  words,  they  must  possess  such  a  complete  knowledge  of 
arithmetic  as  will  enable  them  to  take  up  at  once  the  higher  branches 
of  mathematics,  without  further  study  of  arithmetic. 

The  examination  may  be  either  written  or  oral,  or  partly  written 
and  partly  oral ;  the  definitions  and  rules  must  be  given  fully  and  ac¬ 
curately,  and  the  work  of  all  examples,  whether  upon  the  blackboard, 
slate,  or  paper,  must  be  written  plainly  and  in  full,  and  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  show  clearly  the  mode  of  solution. 

In  English  grammar,  candidates  must  be  able :  — 

To  define  the  parts  of  speech,  and  to  give  their  classes  and  properties;  to  give  inflections, 
including  declension,  conjugation,  and  comparison ;  to  give  the  corresponding  masculine  and 
feminine  gender  nouns ;  to  give  and  apply  the  ordinary  rules  of  syntax. 

To  parse  fully  and  correctly  any  ordinary  sentence,  omitting  rules,  declensions,  comparisons^ 
and  principal  parts,  but  giving  the  subject  of  each  verb,  the  governing  word  of  each  objective 
case,  the  word  for  which  each  pronoun  stands,  or  to  which  it  refers,  the  words  between  which 
each  preposition  shows  the  relation,  precisely  what  each  conjunction  connects,  what  each  ad¬ 
jective  and  adverb  qualifies  or  limits. 

To  correct,  in  sentences  or  extracts,  any  ordinary  grammatical  errors,  such  as  are  mentioned 
and  explained  in  ordinary  grammars. 


372 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


It  is  not  required  that  any  particular  grammar  or  text-book  shall 
be  followed ;  but  rules,  definitions,  parsing,  and  corrections  must  be  in 
accordance  with  good  usage  and  common  sense.  The  examination 
may  be  written  or  oral,  or  both. 

In  geography,  particularly  of  our  own  country,  candidates  are  re¬ 
quired  to  pass  a  satisfactory  examination,  written  or  oral,  or  both. 
Questions  are  likely  to  be  asked  involving  knowledge  of :  — 

Definitions  of  the  geographical  circles ;  of  latitude  and  longitude  ;  of  zones  ;  and  of  all 
the  natural  divisions  of  the  earth’s  surface,  as  islands,  seas,  capes,  etc. 

The  continental  areas  and  the  grand  divisions  of  the  w'ater  of  the  earth’s  surface. 

The  grand  divisions  of  the  land ;  the  large  bodies  of  water  which  partly  or  wholly  surround 
them ;  their  principal  mountains,  location,  direction  and  extent ;  the  capes,  from  what  parts  they 
project  and  into  what  waters  ;  their  principal  peninsulas,  location,  and  by  what  w'aters  they  are 
embraced ;  the  parts  connected  by  an  isthmus  ;  their  principal  islands,  with  location,  and  sur¬ 
rounding  waters ;  the  seas,  gulfs,  and  bays,  the  coasts  they  indent,  and  the  waters  to  which  they 
are  subordinate  ;  the  straits,  the  lands  they  separate,  and  the  winters  they  connect ;  their  princi¬ 
pal  rivers,  their  sources,  directions  of  flow,  and  the  waters  into  which  they  empty  ;  their  principal 
lakes,  location  and  extent. 

The  political  divisions  of  the  grand  divisions.  Their  names,  locations,  boundaries,  and  capi¬ 
tals  ;  general  questions  of  the  same  character  as  already  indicated,  made  applicable  to  each  of 
the  countries  of  each  of  the  grand  divisions. 

The  United  States;  its  general  features,  configuration,  location,  and  boundaries,  both  with 
respect  to  neighboring  countries  and  to  latitude  and  longitude  ;  its  adjacent  oceans,  seas,  bays, 
gulfs,  sounds,  straits,  and  islands  ;  its  mountain  ranges,  their  location  and  extent ;  the  sources,  di¬ 
rections,  and  terminations  of  the  important  rivers  and  their  principal  tributaries ;  the  lakes,  and 
in  short,  every  geographical  feature  of  the  country  as  indicated  above.  The  location  and  termi¬ 
nation  of  important  railway  lines,  and  other  means  of  communication  from  one  part  of  the 
country  to  another,  should  not  be  omitted.  In  short,  the  knowledge  should  be  so  complete  that 
a  clear  mental  picture  of  the  whole,  or  of  any  part  of  the  United  States,  is  impressed  upon  the 
mind  of  the  candidate. 

History. —  The  candidate  should  make  himself  familiar  with  so 
much  of  the  history  of  the  United  States  as  is  contained  in  the  ordi¬ 
nary  school  histories.  The  examination  may  be  written  or  oral,  or 
partly  written  and  partly  oral,  and  will  usually  consist  of  a  series  of 
questions  similar  to  the  following:  — 

Name  the  earliest  European  settlements  within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States  — 
when,  wTere,  and  by  whom  made  ?  When  did  the  settlements  founded  by  other  nations  than 
the  English,  come  under  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain  and  of  the  United  States  ? 

What  was  the  difference  between  the  Royal,  the  Chartered,  and  the  Proprietary  Colonies  ? 
How  many  colonies  were  there  originally  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  ?  When  were  they 
united  ?  How  many  in  Pennsylvania  ?  When  were  they  separated  ? 

In  what  wars  were  the  colonies  engaged  before  the  Revolution  ?  What  were  the  principal 
events  and  results  of  those  of  King  William,  Queen  Anne,  King  George,  and  the  French, 
and  Indian  ? 

What  were  the  remote  and  immediate  causes  of  the  American  Revolution  ?  Explain  the 
Navigation  Act,  the  .Stamp  Act,  Writs  of  Assistance.  When  did  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
properly  begin?  When,  where,  and  how  did  it  end?  Give  the  particulars  of  Arnold’s  treason. 
Who  were  the  most  prominent  generals  in  this  war?  Name  the  most  important  battles  and 
their  results. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States — why  and  when  was  it  formed?  When  was  it 
adopted  ? 


BUSINEvSS  AND  COMMERCE 


373 


The  pay  of  a  cadet  is  $540  per  year,  to  commence  with  his  admis¬ 
sion  to  the  academy.  No  cadet  is  permitted  to  reeeive  money,  or  any 
other  supplies,  from  his  parents,  or  from  any  person  whomsoever, 
without  the  sanction  of  the  superintendent. 

A  most  rigid  observance  of  this  regulation  is  urged  upon  all  par¬ 
ents  and  guardians,  as  its  violation  would  make  distinetions  among  the 
cadets  which  it  is  an  especial  desire  to  avoid,  and  the  pay  of  a  cadet 
is  sufficient,  with  proper  economy,  for  his  support. 

Naval  Academy 

The  course  of  naval  cadets  is  six  years,  four  years  at  the  academy 
and  two  years  at  sea,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  the  cadet  re¬ 
turns  to  the  academy  for  final  graduation.  All  eandidates  must,  at 
the  time  of  examination  for  admission,  be  between  the  ages  of  fifteen 
and  twenty  years,  physieally  sound,  well  formed,  and  of  robust  con¬ 
stitution. 

Attention  will  also  be  paid  to  the  stature  of  the  candidate,  and  no 
one  manifestly  under  size  for  his  age  will  be  received  at  the  acad¬ 
emy.  In  case  of  doubt  about  the  physical  condition  of  the  candidate, 
any  marked  deviation  from  the  usual  standard  of  height  or  weight 
will  add  materially  to  the  considerations  for  rejeetion.  Five  feet  is 
the  minimum  height  for  the  candidate.  The  physical  and  academic 
examinations  do  not  differ  materially  from  those  at  West  Point. 

Candidates  will  be  examined  mentally,  by  the  academic  board,  in 
reading,  writing,  spelling,  arithmetic,  geography,  English  grammar. 
United  States  history,  world’s  history,  algebra,  through  quadratic 
equations,  and  plane  geometry  (five  books  of  Chauvenet’s  Geometry, 
or  an  equivalent).  Deficiency  in  any  of  these  subjects  may  be  suffi¬ 
cient  to  insure  the  candidate’s  rejection. 

Candidates  who  pass  the  physical  and  mental  examinations  will  re¬ 
ceive  appointments  as  naval  cadets  and  beeome  students  of  the 
academy.  Each  cadet  will  be  required  to  sign  articles  binding  him¬ 
self  to  serve  in  the  United  States  Navy  for  eight  years  (including  his 
time  of  probation  at  the  naval  academy),  unless  sooner  discharged. 

The  pay  of  a  naval  cadet  is  $500  a  year,  beginning  at  the  date  of 
his  admission. 

The  Secretaries  of  War  and  of^  the  Navy  will,  upon  application, 
furnish  any  additional  information  not  embraced  in  the  foregoing  pages. 


374 


THE  DRUMMER  WHO  SUCCEEDS 

By  MILES  M.  O'BRIEN 
Representative  of  H.  B.  Clajlin  Co.,  New  York 

According  to  the  popular  idea,  the  successful  drummer 
is  a  man  possessed  of  colossal  cheek ;  a  natural  apti¬ 
tude  for  lying  that  has  been  greatly  improved  by 
assiduous  cultivation ;  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  funny  and 
more  or  less  questionable  stories;  a  great  capacity  for 
stowing  away  liquor ;  and  who  lives,  moves,  and  has  his 
being  solely  to  sell  goods,  without  even  a  preference  for 
honesty  in  his  methods.  Such  is  the  successful  drummer 
of  the  stage  and  of  fiction.  But  he  is  not  to  be  found 
elsewhere  —  except,  perhaps,  in  the  very  last  rank  of  those 
who  fail.  I  have  never  known  a  successful  drummer  who 
was  dishonest,  who  was  a  drunkard,  who  was  offensively 
vulgar,  or  whose  mental  horizon  embraced  only  the  sale 
of  goods.  The  successful  drummer  is  the  product  of  great  natural  apti¬ 
tude  for  his  calling, —  plus  a  vast  amount  of  hard,  faithful,  conscientious 
work. 

Honesty  I  should  place  among  his  first  and  most  essential  qualifications. 
A  little  reflection  will  make  it  apparent  that  it  must  be  so.  The  drum¬ 
mer  succeeds  by  gaining  the  confidence  of  those  to  whom  he  sells  goods. 
How  can  he  do  that  if  he  deceives  his  customers  ?  The  man  to  whom  a 
drummer  has  misrepresented  goods  will  never  buy  of  him  a  second  time. 
Lying,  for  the  drummer,  spells  failure  quicker  than  anything  else.  And 
not  a  few  have  found  it  out.  Unquestionably,  lying — or  misrepresenta¬ 
tion,  which  is  the  same  thing  —  will  often  help  one  to  sell  goods  —  the 
first  time.  And  the  young  man,  on  his  first  trip,  anxious  to  make  a  rec¬ 
ord  for  himself,  sometimes  succumbs  to  the  temptation.  Perhaps  he 
does  make  a  record,  and  when  he  returns  is  complimented  by  his  em¬ 
ployer  on  the  big  sales  he  has  made.  But  when  the  goods  are  deliv¬ 
ered  the  mails  come  in  loaded  with  complaints.  The  customers  who  have 
been  deceived  kick.^^  The  smart  young  drummer  has  made  enemies  of 
them  instead  of  friends.  He  may  see  the  error  of  his  ways  and  reform, 
but  he  cannot  sell  goods  to  these  men  again.  For  this  reason  the  suc¬ 
cessful  drummer,  whose  reputation  for  veracity  is  among  the  valuable 
assets  of  his  stock  in  trade,  will  never  take  service  with  a  trickster. 
And,  for  the  same  reason,  the  young  man,  anxious  to  make  headway  as 
a  salesman,  will,  if  he  be  wise,  consider  of  more  importance  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  house  he  starts  with  than  the  salary  at  which  he  begins. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


375 


The  drummer  who  succeeds  must  be  a  keen  judge  of  human  nature; 
he  must  know  how  to  address  a  prospective  customer;  how  to  engage  his 
attention  and  retain  it;  he  must  learn  to  read  those  trivial  and  scarcely 
perceptible  signs  by  which  men  ofttimes  reveal  their  characters,  moods, 
and  mental  status.  There  is  a  popular  notion  that  this  sort  of  knowledge 
is  all  intuitive ;  that  it  is  a  gift  which  cannot  be  cultivated.  This  is  a 
mistake.  The  foundation  —  natural  aptitude  —  one  must  have,  of  course. 
But  observation  and  experience,  if  one  keeps  his  eyes  open  and  mind 
alert,  will  greatly  increase  one’s  capacity  for  what  is  called  reading 
people.  To  make  that  knowledge  of  service,  adaptability  is  needed. 
The  drummer  who  makes  big  sales  must  be  capable  of  being  all  things 
to  all  men.  He  should  know  when  to  be  serious  and  when  to  be  gay; 
when  to  discuss  philosophy  and  when  to  tell  a  funny  story ;  when  to  talk 
and  when  to  listen.  And  the  latter  is  very  important.  By  showing 
himself  a  good  listener,  the  drummer  often  sells  more  goods  than  he 
would  by  exerting  his  conversational  powers  to  the  utmost.  Some  men 
would  rather  hear  themselves  talk  than  to  hear  anybody  else.  And 
sometimes  they  happen  to  be  large  buyers. 

Confidence,  not  cheek,  is  what  the  drummer  needs.  Cheek  repels; 
confidence  attracts.  The  world  believes  in  men  who  believe  in  them¬ 
selves,  and  the  world  mistrusts  men  who  mistrust  themselves.  The 
timid  man,  who  seems  to  be  constantly  apologizing  for  the  fact  of  his 
existence,  can  never  sell  goods. 

Courage  is  one  of  the  requisites  of  the  drummer  who  makes  big  sales 

—  the  courage  that  impels  one  to  do  his  best  with  undiminished  energy 
and  serene  cheerfulness,  despite  rebuffs,  disappointments,  and  failures. 
If  he  feels  discouraged,  he  must  not  show  it.  The  despondent  man  is 
never  welcome.  The  drummer  who  makes  a  good  impression,  even 
though  he  fail  to  make  a  sale,  paves  the  way  for  future  dealings  that  will 
bring  him  his  reward.  The  personal  equation  enters  very  largely  into 
his  business.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  man  who  is  best  liked  sells 
the  most  goods.  Therefore  it  behooves  the  drummer  to  cultivate  those 
qualities  that  attract  men.  The  best  foundation  for  the  arts  that  please 
is  a  spirit  of  genial  optimism,  nourished  and  sustained  by  sound  health 
and  good  digestion.  The  bright,  sunny,  cheerful  man  carries  with  him 
his  own  best  letter  of  introduction.  He  radiates  health,  mental  and 
physical.  As  one  of  the  poems  of  my  childhood  says :  — 

As  welcome  as  sunshine  in  every  place 

Is  the  smiling  approach  of  a  good-natured  face.^^ 

The  successful  drummer  should  be  a  good  fellow  in  the  best  sense 

—  warm-hearted,  buoyant,  sympathetic,  ever  willing  to  do  a  friend  a 
good  turn.  It  is  because  of  a  misconception  as  to  what  constitutes  good 


376 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


fellowship  that  the  drummer  is  so  often  maligned.  With  many  it  stands 
merely  for  conviviality  carried  to  excess.  Hence  the  notion  that  the 
successful  drummer  is  generally  a  hard  drinker,  and  that  to  get  drunk 
with  a  customer  is  the  best  way  to  establish  relations  that  will  lead  to 
large  sales;  There  never  was  a ’more  egregious  error.  When  it  comes 
to  business,  the  man  who  gets  drunk  himself  mistrusts  the  man  who 
shares  the  debauch  with  him.  When  sober  himself,  he  will  give  his 
orders  t6  the  sober  man,  because  he  will  rightly  have  more  confidence  in 
the  sober  man’s  judgment. 

It  is  certainly  worth  much  to  the  drummer  to  be  able  to  tell  a  good 
story  well.  A  laugh  is  a  good  tonic.  It  warms  the  cockles  of  one’s 
heart  much  more  effectively  than  a  cocktail.  Naturally,  in  his  goings  to 
and  fro  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  the  drummer  has  un¬ 
usual  opportunities  to  collect  a  good  fund  of  humorous  stories.  But  the 
vulgar,  off  color  stories,  if  he  indulge  in  them,  will  do  him  much  more 
harm  than  good.  They  nauseate  the  decent  man,  and  the  decent  man  is 
the  man  who  buys  the  most  goods.  Besides,  their  moral  effect  on  the 
man  who  tells  them  is  deteriorating. 

But  from  whatever  point  he  is  viewed,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  drummer  above  everything  else  is  engaged  in  downright,  hard,  se¬ 
rious  work.  Whatever  peculiar  qualifications  the  successful  pursuit  of 
his  calling  may  require,  he  can  dispense  with  none  of  those  by  which 
success  is  ordinarily  won  in  all  business  fields.  He  must  possess  energy 
and  industry;  he  must  be  prepared  to  scorn  delights  and  live  laborious 
days  whenever  need  be.  He  must  serve  his  employer  loyally  and 
faithfully.  He  must  understand  his  business  thoroughly. 

The  story  of  success  is  always  more  or  less  the  same  story.  The 
royal  road  to  it  exists  no  more  for  the  drummer  than  for  anybody  else. 
The  youth  who  enters  a  big  store,  ambitious  to  shine  as  a  salesman, 
must  be  content  to  follow  the  well-beaten  track.  To  begin  with,  he 
must  have  genuine  liking  for  the  work.  Without  that,  though  he  may 
force  himself  to  make  a  living  at  it,  he  cannot  make  a  eonspieuous  suc¬ 
cess  of  it. 

He  must  be  prepared  to  work  hard  —  to  put  his  best  into  all  that  he 
does.  He  must  not  think,  because  he  starts  with  six  dollars  a  week,  for 
instance,  that  he  is  to  do  only  six  dollars’  worth  of  work  in  a  week.  He 
should  double  and  treble  that  much  if  he  can,  and  count  himself  lucky 
that  he  gets  such  a  chance  to  show  his  employer  what  he  is  capable  of. 
The  lad  who  starts  out  in  that  spirit  is  sure  to  win  promotion.  He  must 
endeavor  to  learn  all  he  can  about  the  business  as  he  passes  from  de¬ 
partment  to  department,  and  to  retain  what  he  learns.  That  is  laying 
by  capital  for  future  use.  He  must  study  human  nature ;  he  must  learn 
how  to  adapt  himself  to  different  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  He 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


377 


should  set  himself  early  to  saving  money,  for  the  summer  of  life  is 
beset  with  temptations  to  spend  money  recklessly. 

If  he  does  all  this ;  if  he  possesses  himself  of  all  the  qualifications  I 
have  indicated,  and  in  addition  turns  out  to  be  that  lucky  individual  en¬ 
dowed  with  that  indefinable  something  which  we  call  personal  magnet¬ 
ism,  he  may  some  day,  as  a  drummer,  earn  a  bigger  salary  than  many  a 
bank  president  gets. 


BUILDING  AND  LOAN  SOCIETIES 


From  a  small  beginning,  about  eighty  years  ago,  the  building  and  loan 
associations  have  grown  to  be  financial  and  industrial  institutions 
of  great  importance.  Hundreds  of  millions  are  annually  invested 
through  them,  in  the  United  States;  and  so  careful  and  economical  is 
their  administration,  owing  to  the  sound  economic  basis  on  which  the 
societies  are  conducted,  that  the  expenses  are  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
total  disbursement.  In  Greater  New  York  alone,  during  the  past  year, 
nearly  thirty  millions  were  invested  in  homes  and  house  property,  at  a 
cost  to  the  organizations  of  only  $840,000.  The  keynote  of  success  in 
the  building  and  loan  business  is  economy  of  management,  for  upon  it 
depends  the  life  and  fate  of  the  society. 

The  origin  of  the  building  and  loan  society  is  this:  A  number  of  men 
anxious  to  own  their  own  houses,  but  lacking  the  capital  to  do  so,  met 
and  formed  a  club.  President,  secretary,  treasurer  and  other  necessary 
officers  were  elected,  and  the  members  were  assessed  a  fixed  sum  per 
week.  These  sums  were  paid  into  the  treasury,  and  when  the  amount 
was  large  enough  to  make  one  loan,  it  was  decided  by  lot  to  whom  the 
privilege  of  the  first  loan  should  go.  The  person  securing  the  first  loan 
continued,  of  course,  to  pay  his  assessments  and,  in  addition,  paid  inter¬ 
est  on  the  amount  of  money  borrowed.  The  interest  and  premiums  on 
the  loans  constituted  the  profits  of  the  society. 

The  basic  principle  has  remained  the  same  in  institutions  of  larger 
growth.  Under  the  old  system,  the  society  dissolved  immediately  after 
all  the  members  had  secured  their  loans,  the  mortgages  were  canceled, 
and  the  profits  arising  from  interest  and  premiums  were  divided  among 
the  members.  The  modern  building  society  continues  business  indefi¬ 
nitely.  It  has  usually  a  number  of  shareholders  who  are  willing  to  allow 
their  money  to  lie  as  an  investment  and  to  draw  dividends  from  the  profits; 
consequently  the  applicant  for  a  building  loan  secures  it  immediately, 


37S 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


instead  of  having  to  wait  his  turn  for  two  or  three  years,  and  must  pay 
only  a  small  premium  and  low  interest  for  the  loan. 

Many  of  the  institutions  receive  as  members  only  persons  desirous 
of  building  homes  for  themselves.  Other  societies  are  founded  on  purely 
commercial  principles,  and  receive  as  members  persons  who  desire  to 
build  as  an  investment  or  sound  speculation.  These  latter  organizations 
approach  more  nearly  to  the  banks  in  their  methods  of  business. 

A  sound  commercial  training,  such  as  is  demanded  of  a  young  man 
going  into  the  business  of  banking  or  stock  brokerage,  is  essential.  A 
knowledge  of  at  least  the  rudiments  of  law  is  desirable,  especially  as  far 
as  it  relates  to  loans,  real  estate,  and  building;  for  few  societies  are  rich 
enough,  or,  more  correctly,  have  business  enough,  to  retain  a  lawyer 
permanently,  and  legal  questions  are  continually  arising  out  of  agree¬ 
ments,  mortgages,  bonds,  and  other  details  of  the  business.  The  mana¬ 
ger  or  responsible  executive  of  a  society  must  know  how  far  he  may  or 
may  not  go  without  the  expensive  services  of  a  lawyer,  for,  as  I  have 
said  before,  economy  is  the  great  justification  and  reason  for  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  the  building  and  loan  society.  It  is  further  imperative  for 
him  who  would  become  a  power  in  the  business  of  building  and  loans  to 
be  acquainted  in  a  practical  way  with  the  management  of  real  estate,  its 
value,  and  the  possibilities  of  its  development. 

When  application  for  membership  in  the  society  is  made,  the  first 
step  taken  by  the  officers  is  to  investigate  the  eligibility  of  the  applicant. 
The  would-be  shareholder  must  already  be  possessed  of  some  means, 
such  as  the  ground  on  which  to  build  or  the  money  with  which  to  buy 
a  lot.  The  officers,  besides  investigating  the  responsibility  of  the  appli¬ 
cant,  must  decide  whether  the  lot  justifies  the  Idan  asked  upon  it,  and 
only  knowledge  of  the  locality  can  determine  that  point,  the  environment 
making  or  marring  its  value. 

And,  again,  the  man  who  would  become  a  valued  officer  in  a  building 
society  must  not  only  possess  intelligence  himself,  but  must  be  capable 
of  imparting  to  others  a  clear  idea  of  the  workings  of  his  society.  A 
great  number  of  the  people  applying  for  membership  have  but  a  hazy 
notion  of  the  principles  on  which  the  society  is  founded,  and  very  lucid 
reasoning  is  sometimes  required  to  get  people  to  understand  the  work¬ 
ings  of  such  an  organization. 

Finally,  the  successful  building  and  loan  officer  must  be  gifted  with  a 
rare  insight  into  human  nature,  in  order  to  judge  between  the  man  with 
ability  and  perseverance,  who  will  carry  his  project  to  a  successful  and 
profitable  termination,  and  the  man  without  these  qualifications,  who 
will,  in  all  probability,  leave  an  unfinished  house  on  the  hands  of  the 
society.  In  the  granting  of  a  loan,  the  ability  of  the  applicant  is  the  first 
consideration.  Even  though  possessed  of  the  necessary  initial  sum,  it 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


379 


would  be  exceedingly  bad  policy  to  expect  from  him  payments  in  excess 
of  the  amount  he  could  reasonably  pay  from  his  salary  or  income.  Thus 
the  executive  officers  of  the  society  have  to  guard,  not  only  against  the 
ordinary  mishaps  of  business,  but  they  must  protect  the  members  from 
their  own  extravagances  and  prevent  them  from  undertaking  more  than 
they  can  carry  to  successful  issue. 

The  officers  of  these  institutions  carry  trusts  as  important  and  re¬ 
sponsible  as  those  of  the  officers  of  a  bank,  or  the  trusted  employees  of  a 
large  commercial  house,  and,  consequently,  honesty,  integrity,  energy, 
and  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  institution,  as  well  as  the  ability  to  do 
the  work  required,  are  important  elements  in  their  mental  training.  In¬ 
deed,  in  no  place  is  integrity  more  necessary  than  in  the  building  and 
loan  society,  for  there  it  is  nearly  always  the  savings  of  little  means  that 
are  to  be  conserved. 

The  remuneration  in  building  societies  ranks  with  that  in  banks. 
Clerks  earn,  according  to  their  ability  and  their  work,  from  twelve  dollars 
to  thirty-five  dollars  a  week.  The  salaries  of  the  more  responsible  offi¬ 
cers  are  in  proportion  to  the  standing  and  importance  of  the  society. 
Five  thousand  dollars  to  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  is  not  an  uncommon 
salary  for  the  manager  or  president  of  a  prosperous  institution. 

There  are  many  opportunities  for  the  young  man  who  is  willing  to 
make  himself  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  business  of  the  building 
and  loan  association.  This  institution  has  not  yet  reached  its  full  de¬ 
velopment,  and  the  positions  it  will  offer  in  the  future  will  be  among  the 
prizes  to  be  awarded  by  the  business  world. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  GENERAL  STORE 

IF  THE  merchant,  whether  in  a  great  city  or  in  a  town,  would  build  a 
permanent  and  substantial  business,  he  must,  in  the  first  place,  tell 
his  customers  the  truth;  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 
Salesmen  must  state  the  quality  of  the  stock  exactly  as  it  is — all  wool 
and  a  yard  wide,  or  part  cotton  and  thirty  inches  wide,  as  the  case  may 
be.  This  avoidance  of  misrepresentation  in  any  form,  as  a  business 
principle  of  leading  merchants,  is  one  of  the  indications  of  the  rise  in  the 
mercantile  business  to  a  higher  plane  than  that  upon  which  it  rested 
twenty-five  years  ago.  It  is  of  great  benefit,  not  only  to  the  public  and 
the  merchant,  but  also  to  the  employees  of  the  latter.  It  puts  their  self- 
respect  on  a  firmer  foundation  and  enables  them  to  command  the  respect 
of  customers.  Out  of  this  practice  of  fair  statement  in  respect  to  goods, 
has  come  naturally  the  one-price  system.  The  merchant  well  knows  at 


380 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


what  figure  he  may  sell  an  article  or  piece  of  goods  and  obtain  an  ade¬ 
quate  profit.  He  does  not  strive  to  make  as  large  a  profit  as  possible, 
and  thus  to  get  the  better  of  his  customers.  In  all  mercantile  establish¬ 
ments  conducted  in  accordance  with  modern  and  reputable  methods, 
prices  are  fixed,  and  cannot  be  changed  by  any  bickering  and  bargaining 
between  salesman  and  patron.  It  is  essential  to  a  large  business  that 
goods  be  sold  at  a  small  profit  and  chiefly  for  cash. 

Another  matter  which  the  modern  merchant  must  look  well  to  is  ad¬ 
vertising,  the  force  which  vitalizes  his  business.  He  must  advertise 
often  —  daily,  if  possible  —  in  the  newspapers,  and  must  see  to  it  that  his 
advertisements  are  not  stereotyped  or  perfunctory.  The  language  of 
the  advertisements  should  be  simple,  forcible,  and  conservative.  No 
ordinary  man  can  write  them  so  as  to  bring  out  their  full  possibilities. 
The  merchant-who  is  doing,  or  hopes  to  do,  a  business  of  any  magnitude, 
should  have  a  man  of  trained  ability  at  the  head  of  his  advertising  de¬ 
partment,  and  should  be  courageous  in  his  advertising  expenditure.  Ad¬ 
vertising  has  a  cumulative  effect;  that  which  is  most  successful  is 
conducted  on  a  large  scale.  Most  advertising  fails  because  it  has  not 
been  carried  quite  far  enough.  An  advertiser  often  becomes  discour¬ 
aged,  when  a  comparatively  small  further  expenditure  would  give  all  of 
his  advertising  force  and  swing. 

But  advertising  alone  cannot,  of  course,  build  up  a  mercantile  busi¬ 
ness.  The  advertisement  may  draw  a  shopper  to  the  store,  but  unless 
she  is  pleased  she  is  not  apt  to  come  soon  again.  A  potent  influence  in 
pleasing  a  customer,  aside  from  the  main  consideration,  ^^good  values, 

I 

is  to  be  found  in  the  attractiveness  of  the  store  itself.  A  shopper  natu¬ 
rally  prefers  to  buy  amid  surroundings  which  gratify  the  eye,  divert 
the  mind,  and  rest,  rather  than  wear  out,  the  body.  A  great  retail  store 
in  these  days  is  a  sort  of  universal  exposition.  Here  the  choicest  of  the 
world’s  manufactured  products  are  exhibited  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions  that  modern  skill  can  devise.  The  people  come  in  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  to  visit  this  exposition.  Many  of  these  buy,  of 
course,  but  a  large  number  come  simply  to  see,  to  be  instructed  and  en¬ 
tertained.  The  good  merchant  makes  all  of  these  visitors  welcome,  and 
furnishes  them  with  facilities  for  making  their  visits  both  agreeable  and 
profitable.  In  stores  in  small  cities  and  towns  the  means  of  attracting 
visitors  cannot,  of  course,  be  nearly  as  extensive  as  in  great  department 
stores,  but  the  value  of  the  practice  of  making  establishments  as  attract¬ 
ive  as  possible  remains  the  same  in  all  localities. 

This  policy  has  been  one  of  the  influences  which  have  developed 
salesmen  and  saleswomen  of  a  higher  type  than  the  average  dry-goods 
clerk  of  former  times.  Many  of  those  of  to-day  exercise  the  duties  of 
exhibitors,  demonstrators,  and  teachers,  as  well  as  of  sellers  of  goods, 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


381 

They  are  expected  by  the  merchants  of  the  best  houses  to  be  always 
attentive  to  visitors,  but  never  to  importune  them  to  buy;  they -are  to 
remember  that  the  visitor,  whether  a  buyer  or  not,  is  a  guest  of  the 
establishment  and  is  to  be  treated  as  such.  The  salespeople  are  the  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  the  proprietor  in  meeting  and  greeting  visitors,  and  must 
do  their  utmost  in  an  unobtrusive  way  to  create  a  relationship  of  good 
will  between  the  merchant  and  the  public. 

The  best  salesmen  and  saleswomen  are  those  of  sympathetic  and 
sociable  dispositions.  This  is  because  their  manifestations  of  friendli¬ 
ness  has  a  spontaneity  which  is  far  more  winning  than  any  forced  ex¬ 
pressions  of  good  will.  Many  persons  have  a  natural  reserve  which 
gives  them  a  distaste  for  meeting  strangers.  This  feeling  can  be  over¬ 
come,  and  must  be,  if  one  would  become  a  successful  salesman.  True 
cordiality  of  manner  must  be  reinforced  by  intelligence,  of  course,  and 
by  a  ready  command  of  information,  particularly  in  regard  to  matters 
near  at  hand.  The  practice  of  a  pleasant  greeting,  with  straightforward, 
courteous  answers  to  all  inquiries,  even  if  some  of  the  latter  do  seem 
foolish,  will  go  far  toward  making  the  caller’s  visit  to  the  store  a  pleas¬ 
ure,  and  will  gradually  develop  in  the  public  mind  a  general  feeling 
toward  the  establishment  which  will  be  of  invaluable  benefit  to  it. 

The  necessary  qualifications  of  a  good  salesman  may  be  set  down  as 
follows:  Spontaneous  politeness,  tact,  patience,  confidence,  persever¬ 

ance,  decision,  and  finally,  above  all,  honest  loyalty  to  both  customer  and 
employer.  The  combination  of  all  these  qualities  is  found  in  very  few 
persons,  but  it  can  be  cultivated  by  men  and  women  of  average  intelli¬ 
gence,  who  think  it  worth  while  to  put  themselves  through  a  course  of 
severe  training.  If  you  are  a  salesman  or  saleswoman,  and  want  to  be  a 
good  one,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  doing  your  work  well  but  also  because 
this  is  a  condition  precedent  to  promotion,  you  must  persistently  cultivate 
the  habits  of  mind  which  are  manifest  in  the  qualities  I  have  mentioned. 
In  rush  seasons,  when  hard  work  and  long  hours  have  brought  a 
weariness  of  flesh  and  spirit,  a  fixed  practice  of  exercising  politeness, 
tact,  and  patience  will  carry  a  salesman  safely  and  without  friction 
through  a  difficult  day,  while  the  man  at  his  side,  with  greater  natural 
ability,  perhaps,  but  with  less  effectual  training,  will  irritate  himself 
and  all  those  with  whom  he  deals,  and  will  commit  fault  upon  fault. 

To  be  loyal  to  himself  and  to  his  employer,  the  salesman  must  be 
loyal  to  customers.  The  merchant  lives,  moves,  and  has  his  being  in  the 
confidence  of  the  public.  Without  that  confidence,  prosperity  is  beyond 
his  reach.  An  adroit  salesman,  who  disposes  of  questionable  goods  at  a 
high  price,  may  flatter  himself  that  he  has  done  a  clever  thing,  but  in  the 
long  run  such  seeming  gains  turn  to  loss  —  the  loss  of  the  established 
confidence  that  is  the  breath  of  life  in  mercantile  business. 


382 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


To  attain  the  highest  success  in  selling  goods,  a  man  or  woman  must 
have  a  quick  insight  into  the  buyer’s  needs;  this  insight  comes  with  the 
use  of  tact.  A  stranger  who  is  made  to  believe  that  you  really  desire  to 
aid  him  in  the  way  he  wants  to  be  aided,  is  your  friend.  A  quick  in¬ 
tuition,  cultivated  by  patient  use,  will  give  you  a  glimpse  of  the  cus¬ 
tomer’s  purposes,  desires,  tastes,  and  even  the  limitations  of  his  or  her 
means.  There  will  be  no  resentment  of  this  indirect  inquiry,  but  rather 
gratitude  for  the  friendly  assistance.  Very  often  buyers  express  thanks 
to  the  salesman  who  with  tact  and  grace  has  discovered  what  they  want 
when  they  have  hardly  known  themselves.  Such  experiences  make  for 
an  establishment  lifelong  patrons;  such  salespeople  are  the  mainstay 
of  the  retail  mercantile  establishment. 

The  man  or  woman  that  sells  goods,  who  would  join  the  ranks  of  these 
efficient  and  appreciated  employees,  would  make  a  good  start  by  deter¬ 
mining  to  do  only  one  thing  at  a  time,  but  to  do  it  thoroughly  and 
well.  Give,  to  as  great  an  extent  as  possible,  exclusive  attention  to 
the  person  who  stops  at  your  counter  with  an  inquiry.  One  customer 
comes  in  haste,  desiring  nothing  so  much  as  to  be  waited  on  with  sharp 
dispatch;  another  has  a  whole  morning  to  idle  away  in  the  shopping  tour; 
one  knows  exactly  what  he  is  looking  for  and  wants  to  be  told  on  the 
instant  whether  it  can  be  had  at  the  place  of  inquiry  or  in  the  next 
department;  another  has  only  a  general  idea  of  something  that  can  be 
made  to  fill  a  not  very  definite  requirement,  and  needs  guidance  in  the 
selection  of  the  right  article ;  one  comes  with  a  full  purse,  and  is  con¬ 
cerned  about  style,  quality,  and  suitability;  another,  cramped  by  small 
means,  is  forced  to  compare  goods  and  prices.  The  salesman  encoun¬ 
ters  many  different  conditions  in  the  course  of  a  business  day.  The 
chief  thing  for  him  to  remember  is  to  give  his  devoted  attention  to  each 
person,  whether  a  large  buyer  or  a  small  one,  or  merely  an  inquirer. 
Thus  he  is  able  to  serve  each  new-comer  according  to  his  or  her  require¬ 
ments.  It  is  said  that  the  best  way  to  win  the  favor  of  a  lady  is  to  treat 
her  as  if  she  were  the  only  woman  in  the  world.  Whatever  truth  there 
may  be  in  this  observation,  may  be  applied  by  the  salesman. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  good  employee,  but  nothing  as  yet  of  the 
faults  of  the  average  one.  These  faults  are  conspicuous  enough.  The 
chief  ones  may  be  stated  briefly  to  be  a  lack  of  thoroughness,  a  lack 
of  interest,  and  a  lack  of  willingness  to  do  any  work  outside  of  the 
fixed  routine.  The  majority  of  employees  fear  hard  work;  they  take 
hold  of  business  with  but  half  a  heart  and  think  chiefly  of  the  closing 
time  and  what  they  will  do-after  that  hour.  They  resent  requests  to  un¬ 
dertake  work  which  is  not  exactly  in  their  line  of  duty,  yet  they  are 
equally  resentful  when  others,  more  faithful,  are  promoted  over  their 
heads.  They  think  they  ought  to  have  their  salaries  raised,  but  do  noth- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


383 


ing  to  increase  their  value  to  the  establishment.  They  do  not  possess 
that  earnest  sincerity  which  prompts  a  man  to  work  with  his  whole  heart. 
They  lack  the  soldierly  qualities  without  which  a  man  in  the  ranks  can 
rarely  become  a  captain. 

But  the  merchant  cannot  expect  faithful  and  efficient  service  from  his 
employees  if  he  regards  them  merely  as  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  his 
business.  No  man  or  woman  will  put  forth  his  or  her  best  efforts  in  the 
interest  of  others,  unless  there  is  some  assurance  of  fair  treatment,  con¬ 
sideration,  and  appreciation  in  return.  The  representative  merchant 
does  not  consider  policy  alone  in  his  attitude  toward  those  in  his  employ, 
yet  it  is  the  best  policy  to  see  that  the  latter  are  contented  and  interested 
in  the  store. 

While  the  final  purpose  of  the  retail  merchant  is  to  sell  go6ds,  he 
must,  of  course,  buy  them  first.  There  can  be  no  successful  selling 
without  skilful  and  judicious  buying.  Formerly,  the  proprietor  attended 
personally  to  this  important  matter,  but  the  expansion  of  the  retail  busi¬ 
ness,  and  the  federation  of  many  kinds  of  merchandise  under  one  roof, 
have  created  a  new  calling,  that  of  the  buyer.  The  latter  is  an  expert 
who  gives  his  attention  exclusively  in  large  establishments  to  one  partic¬ 
ular  kind  of  goods.  He  is  usually  the  chief  of  the  department  devoted 
to  his  particular  line  of  merchandise,  and  bears  the  whole  responsibility 
of  its  proper  management.  He  receives  credit  for  its  profits  and  is  called 
to  account  for  its  losses..  When  it  is  remembered  that  a  single  depart¬ 
ment  may  do  a  business  of  a  million  or  even  two  million  dollars  a  year, 
it  will  be  seen  that  a  man  of  ability  is  required  to  manage  it,  and  that  his 
pay  must  be  large.  In  large  city  retail  stores  are  numerous  other  posi¬ 
tions  involving  much  responsibility  and  carrying  excellent  salaries.  For 
example,  the  general  superintendent  of  the  delivery  department  must 
be  a  man  of  exceptional  executive  ability.  This  department  is  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  growth  of  the  present-day  methods  in  the  retail  mercan¬ 
tile  business.  In  the  early  development  of  the  business  of  an  eminent 
retail  merchant,  his  clerks,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  each  took  a  basket 
laden  with  bundles,  which  they  delivered  during  the  evening.  At  the 
present  time,  the  delivery  department  is  highly  organized  and  expen¬ 
sively  equipped.  It  gives  work  to  a  large  number  of  persons,  and  keeps 
in  constant  use  hundreds  of  horses  and  delivery  wagons ;  it  requires  the 
close  attention  of  several  capable  managers  in  addition  to  that  of  the 
general  superintendent. 

These  and  numerous  other  positions  of  responsibility  are  all  within 
the  reach  of  the  young  man  who  becomes  an  employee  of  a  large  retail 
store.  He  has  plenty  of  opportunities  to  attain  a  place  which  will  make 
him  a  useful  and  respected  citizen  and  will  give  him  an  excellent  in¬ 
come.  An  efficient  man  will  probably  earn  more  by  working  for  a 


3^4 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


salary  than  in  conducting  a  store  of  his  own,  unless  he  is  in  the  except 
tional  position  of  having  considerable  capital,  and  circumstances  in  his 
favor,  which  are  now  necessary  for  the  development  of  a  large  busi¬ 
ness. 

The  federated  store  has  been  criticised  on  the  ground  that  small 
storekeepers  cannot  compete  with  it,  and  thus  many  merchants  have 
been  driven  out  of  business.  This  is  true  only  to  a  limited  extent.  A 
few  have  suffered,  but  their  number  is  insignificant  when  compared  to 
those  who  have  been  benefited.  The  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  num¬ 
ber  is  an  underlying  principle  of  American  institutions.  Many  of  the 
men  who  have  been  unable  to  compete  with  the  lower  prices  of  the  great 
retail  stores  have  been  given  employment  in  these  establishments,  and 
are  enjoying  larger  incomes  than  before.  But  the  chief  merit  of  the 
department  store  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  has  increased  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  money  of  the  people,  and  has  thus  added  materially  to  the 
comfort  of  their  lives. 

For  several  reasons,  the  merchant  conducting  a  great  business  is  able 
to  sell  on  a  much  smaller  margin  of  profit  than  others.  He  is  very  close 
to  production  and  manufacture,  for  he  handles  the  entire  output  of 
many  factories,  and  does  more  business  in  a  week  than  half  a  dozen 
wholesale  houses  formerly  did  in  a  month.  He  has  done  away  with  the 
intermediaries  who  in  the  past  carried  on  the  commission,  the  importing, 
and  the  jobbing  business. 

The  new  method  is  the  best,  not  only  for  the  consumer  but  for  all 
concerned.  It  has  great  advantages. for  those  who  make  goods  and  for 
those  who  sell  them.  In  the.  case  of  a  maker  of  a  staple  cotton  fabric, 
for  example,  the  merchant  deals  with  this  manufacturer  directly  —  takes 
his  goods  from  the  looms  and  distributes  them  among  the  buyers,  with 
no  intervention  of  middlemen.  The  maker  is  kept  by  the  merchant  in 
close  touch  with  the  consumer,  and  is  fully  advised  as  to  the  changes, 
improvements,  and  new  fashions  which  are  likely  to  affect  his  line  of 
goods.  If,  in  spite  of  all  care,  an  accumulation  of  stock  is  threatened, 
he  and  the  merchant  can  arrange  for  such  a  reduction  of  prices,  as  will 
extend  consumption  until  the  surplus  has  been  distributed.  He  thus 
has  a  constant  market  and  can  arrange  for  a  constant  output  of  goods  to 
supply  it.  He  contracts  for  material,  fuel,  labor,  and  machinery  on  an 
all-the-year-round  basis.  His  returns  are  in  cash,  and  he  pays  cash, 
saving  not  only  the  discount,  but  the  waste  and  the  anxiety  attending 
credit  transactions.  He  has  no  bad  debts,  or  need  have  none,  and  he 
saves  the  two-and-a-half-per-cent.  guarantee  charges  on  his  goods  to 
cover  risks  on  this  account.  Thus  the  manufacturer  can  afford  to  sell 
at  a  lower  per  cent,  of  profit  than  ever  before.  This  saving  is  realized 
by  the  consumer,  who  is  able  to  buy  most  of  the  family  necessaries,  and 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


385 


even  luxuries,  at  about  one-half  the  price  formerly  paid.  From  this  it 
follows  that  a  greater  demand  is  created  by  the  greater  purchasing  power 
of  money,  factory  operations  are  more  active,  and  demand  for  labor  is 
increased. 

Thus  the  great  stores,  keeping  pace  with  the  marvelous  commer¬ 
cial  growth  due  to  the  application  of  steam  and  electricity  to  industrial 
uses,  have  vastly  broadened  the  mercantile  business,  bringing  it  to  a 
state  of  high  development  mechanically,  and  raising  it  to  a  higher  plane 
ethically.  To  recapitulate:  they  have  brought  greater  advantages  to 
consumer,  producer,  and  the  skilled  workman ;  they  have  opened  a  new 
field  for  employment  for  women;  they  have  added  dignity  to  the  occu¬ 
pation  of  the  salesman  and  have  created  new  positions  and  new  work; 
they  have,  in  brief,  come  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  economic  life 
of  the  times.  The  primary  aim  of  the  merchant  of  to-day,  as  of  the 
past,  is  to  make  money,  but  unlike  most  of  his  predecessors,  he  realizes 
that  his  business  is  a  factor  in  existing  social  orders,  and  that  he  owes  a 
well-defined  duty  to  the  public.  That  he  render  good  service  must  now 
be  his  first  consideration.  This  is  the  basic  condition  of  mercantile 
growth. 

There  must,  of  course,  be  behind  this  growth  a  directing  spirit,  and 
good  men,  employees  who  are  reliable  workers,  who  think  and  work  for 
employers  as  though  their  efforts  counted  so  many  dollars  for  themselves. 
But  whether  employer  or  employee,  the  matter  of  first  importance  is  to 
give  the  whole  force  of  one’s  nature  to  the  thing  to  be  done.  Attention 
to  detail,  even  the  smallest,  is  the  beginning  of  good  work  all  along  the 
line,  from  the  head  of  the  establishment  to  the  youngest  errand  boy. 
Next  to  this  is  the  capacity  to  generalize,  to  group  the  details,  and  to 
understand  the  relations  of  the  several  parts  to  the  whole  system.  This 
ability,  coupled  with  absolute  honesty,  will  now,  as  always,  command 
success  in  the  mercantile  business. 


SELLING  GOODS  AT  RETAIL 


Few  men  can  speak  so  authoritatively  on  the  subject  of  selling  goods  at 
retail  as  Nathan  Straus,  a  member  of  the  great  firm  of  R.  H.  Macy 
and  Company.  In  conversation  with  the  writer,  Mr.  Straus  made 
a  number  of  remarks  which  are  of  interest  to  all  merchants.  A  part  of 
what  he  said  is  as  follows : — 

the  business  of  storekeeping,  we  city  merchants  have  gone  back  to 
the  methods  of  the  rural  districts.  Except  in  size,  and  the  system  growing 

13—25 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


386 

out  of  the  many  intricacies  of.  buying  and  selling  on  an  extensive  scale, 
there  is  little  difference  between  the  great  department  store  and  the  ^  gen¬ 
eral  store  ^  in  the  village  of  Wayback.  We  aim  to  keep  everything  that 
dwellers  in  the  city  are  likely  to  want.  Our  brother  merchants  in  the 
country  also  endeavor  to  have  in  stock  everything  that  the  people  in  their 
locality  need.  In  a  city  store  and  in  a  country  store  the  policy  and  methods 
that  bring  success  are  practically  the  same. 

If  a  young  man,  about  to  open  a  general  store  in  a  village  or  town, 
should  ask  my  advice,  I  should  tell  him  first,  to  conduct  his  business  on  a 
cash  basis.  The  credit  system  is  a  rock  upon  which  the  majority  of  store¬ 
keepers  who  fail  go  to  pieces.  They  lose  considerable  money  in  bad  debts, 
and  goods  are  often  returned,* which  fact,  of  course,  is  far  from  beneficial 
to  stock.  Not  receiving  his  money  promptly,  a  merchant  who  does  a  credit 
business  is  often  unable  to  pay  his  bills  promptly.  Thus,  he  cannot  take 
advantage  of  the  usual  discounts,  and  he  is  forced  to  pay  more  than  his 
cash-paying  competitor.  This  is  not  to  his  best  advantage,  nor  to  that  of 
his  customer. 

The  merchant  who  sells  on  credit  invariably  charges  more  for  his  goods 
than  the  one  who  sells  for  cash.  It  is  perfectly  natural  and  proper  that  he 
should  do  so.  But  it  is  the  man  who  gives  most  for  the  money  who  builds 
up  the  largest  business.  Therefore,  a  young  merchant  opening  a  store 
should  always  make  it  a  cardinal  principle  to  sell  for  cash  only.  Unless 
he  does  so  he  is  not  making  the  right  start.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  it 
is  impossible  for  a  man  to  build  up  a  cash  dry  goods  business  in  a  com¬ 
munity  where  buying  on  credit  has  been  the  custom.  I  am  very  confi¬ 
dent  that  this  is  not  true.  I  am  sure  that  an  energetic  young  man  will  be 
able  to  convince  his  customers  that,'  since  he  is  able  to  buy  at  much  better 
advantage  by  doing  a  cash  business,  he  is  also  able  to  sell  to  better  ad¬ 
vantage  and,  that,  therefore,  their  interests  are  best  promoted  by  cash 
dealing. 

It  is  superfluous,  of  course,  to  tell  an  intelligent  young  merchant  that 
to  gain  any  permanent  footing  in  the  dry-goods  business  he  must  sell  his 
goods  for  just  what  they  are.  A  practice  of  misrepresentation,  with  glib- 
tongued  salesmen  to  laud  poor  goods  and  convince  purchasers  against  their 
better  judgment,  may  give  cheap  city  stores,  depending  upon  transitory 
trade,  an  air  of  fictitious  prosperity  for  a  while,  but  they  can  never  com¬ 
pete,  for  any  great  length  of  time,  with  honest  dealers.  Sooner  or  later, 
the  bottom  will  drop  out  of  their  pretensions. 

Another  matter,  which  seems  almost  too  obvious  to  mention,  is  the 
necessity  of  unfailing  patience  and  courtesy  in  the  treatment  of  custom¬ 
ers.  I  have  noticed  salesmen  who  act  as  if  they  are  doing  shoppers  a 
favor  when  they  wait  upon  them.  This  manner  is,  of  course,  fatal  to  suc¬ 
cess  in  a  merchant  or  salesman.  In  our  establishment  we  weed  out,  as 
quickly  as  possible,  men  and  women  who  show  it. 

<^A  merchant,  nowadays,  must  be  content  with  small  profits.  He  must 
sell  first-class  goods  at  low  prices,  deciding,  as  soon  as  possible  after  his 
start,  what  per  cent,  of  profits  will  enable  him  to  maintain  and  develop 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


3S7 


his  business.  In  marking  goods,  he  should  adhere  persistently  to  this  per¬ 
centage.  Young  women,  mere  clerks,  fix  the  prices  in  our  store.  It  is 
simply  a  matter  of  arithmetic.  In  each  department  we  have  a  fixed  rate 
of  profit  on  all  sales.  If  a  lot  of  goods  comes  in  invoiced  at  $12.00  a 
dozen,  the  young  woman,  knowing,  of  course,  the  rate  profit  in  her  depart¬ 
ment,  will  mark  without  hesitancy  each  article,  the  prices  being  $1.24,  or 
S1.16,  or  some  other  figure,  according  to  the  fixed  percentage. 

This  is  an  explanation  of  the  uneven  figures  which  so  frequently  occur 
in  our  price  marks.  Many  persons,  including  some  other  firms,  seem  to 
think  that  we  sell  an  article  for  ninety-nine  cents  rather  than  for  one  dollar, 
in  the  belief  that  the  former  figure  will  sound,  to  the  unmathematical 
mind  of  the  average  woman,  considerably  lower  than  the  latter,  and  thus 
she  will  purchase  at  ninety-nine  cents  where  she  would  feel  that  she  could 
not  afford  a  dollar.  We  have  too  much  respect  for  the  intelligence  of  our 
customers  to  entertain  any  such  idea. 

®  I  have  been  speaking,  thus  far,  of  the  prices  which  are  affixed  when 
the  articles  come  from  the  receiving  department.  We  have,  of  course,  our 
reductions.  Every  day  a  member  of  the  firm,  or  the  superintendent,  walks 
through  the  store  taking  notes  of  the  stock,  giving  special  attention  to  its 
selling  qualities.  The  shoppers  are,  after  all,  the  best  judges  of  goods.  If 
they  show  an  unwillingness  to  purchase  goods  at  a  certain  price,  we  mark  the 
goods  down,  and  have  what  is  called  a  <  bargain  sale.^  This  not  only  keeps 
stock  moving,  but  attracts  attention  to  the  store  and  stimulates  interest  in 
the  great  shopping  sisterhood.  A  woman  who  goes  to  a  store  to  buy  a 
bargain  is  very  apt  to  make  other  purchases. 

The  best  method  of  reaching  the  public  with  announcements  of  special 
sales  is  by  newspaper  advertising.  To  succeed,  every  dry-goods  store  which 
competes  with  others  must  advertise.  There  are,  of  course,  many  ways 
of  advertising,  but,  in  a  city,  at  least,  the  most  effective  and  convenient, 
though  the  most  expensive  method,  is  through  the  medium  of  the  daily 
newspapers.  The  advertisement,  must,  first  of  all,  state  the  facts  concisely, 
but  they  should  be  more  than  mere  catalogues  of  goods.  They  should  be 
worded  so  attractively  as  to  catch  and  hold  the  attention,  even  of  a  reader 
who  is  not  particularly  interested  in  the  articles  mentioned.  A  great  many 
thousands  of  dollars  a  year  are  spent  by  our  largest  stores  in  advertising. 
The  head  of  this  department  is  always  a  very  alert  and  able  young  man 
who  commands  an  excellent  salary.  His  work  has  developed  within  a  few 
years  into  an  art.  A  merchant,  either  in  city  or  country,  cannot  be  too 
careful  about  his  ^ads.^  If  he  gives  them  snap  and  originality,  he  will  be 
surprised  at  the  amount  of  increase  in  the  returns.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  there  must  be  no  deception  of  any  kind  in  an  advertisement.  That 
rather  ancient  adage,  ^  Honesty  is  the  best  policy,^  must  have  been  first 
penned  by  an  experienced  dry-goods  merchant. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  great  department  stores  are  constantly  grow¬ 
ing  larger  and  are  steadily  extending  their  trade,  greatly  to  the  detriment 
of  the  small  merchants.  It  is  true  that  the  large  stores  are  reaching  out 
for  the  patronage  of  the  residents  of  the  suburban  towns.  But  a  house 


388 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


cannot  hope  for  a  large  trade  from  localities  more  than  a  few  hours 
distant  by  train  from  the  city.  Most  people  are  loyal  to  the  merchants  of 
their  own  neighborhood.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  however,  that  some  of 
the  latter  are  crowded  out  of  business.  We  try  to  make  places  for  those 
who  have  been  unable  to  compete  with  large  city  stores.  Many  of  them 
are  in  the  employ  of  the  department  houses,  and  in  numerous  instances 
are  receiving  larger  incomes  than  those  they  derived  from  independent 
business,  in  the  days  of  their  greatest  prosperity. 

In  my  opinion,  the  great  dry-goods  establishments  have  about  reached 

their  limit  in  size,  and  in  their  effect  upon  the  business  of  the  smaller 

shops.  The  vast  majority  of  the  latter,  scattered  throughout  the  country 

in  great  profusion,  are  so  far  away  as  to  be  beyond  the  influence  of  the 

\ 

city  stores,  and  have  suffered  very  little  from  them.  The  average  country 
store  is  conducted  in  a  very  old-fashioned  and  unprogressive  manner.  A 
young  man  who  has  brains  and  industry  and  originality  enough  to  apply 
new  methods  to  keeping  a  store  in  a  town  or  village,  need  encounter  little 
difficulty  in  establishing  himself  on  a  firm  basis  of  prosperity. 


JOHN  WANAMAKER’S  VIEWS  ON  BUSINESS 

(Interview) 

When  asked  whether  the  small  tradesmen  have  any  ^^show^^  to-day 
against  the  great  department  stores,  Mr.  Wanamaker  said:  — 

All  of  the  great  stores  were  small  at  one  time.  Small  stores  will  keep 
on  developing  into  big  ones.  You  wouldn’t  expect  a  man  to  put  an 
iron  band  about  his  business  in  order  to  prevent  expansion,  would  you  ? 
There  are,  according  to  statistics,  a  greater  number  of  prosperous  small 
stores  in  the  city  than  ever  before.  What  better  proof  do  you  want  ? 

The  department  store  is  a  natural  product,  evolved  from  conditions 
that  exist  as  a  result  of  fixed  trade  laws.  Executive  capacity,  combined 
with  command  of  capital,  finds  opportunity  in  these  conditions,  which  are 
harmonious  with  the  irresistible  determination  of  the  producer  to  meet 
the  consumer  directly,  and  of  the  merchandise  to  find  distribution  along 
the  lines  of  least  resistance.  Reduced  prices  stimulate  consumption,  and 
increase  employment;  and  it  is  sound  opinion  that  the  increased  employment 
created  by  the  department  stores  goes  to  women,  without  curtailing  that  of 
men.  In  general,  it  may  be  stated  that  large  retail  stores  have  shortened 
the  hours  of  labor;  and  by  systematic  discipline  have  made  it  lighter.  The 
small  store  is  harder  upon  the  salesman  or  clerk.  The  effects  upon  the 
character  and  capacity  of  the  employees  are  good  in  a  well-ordered,  mod¬ 
ern  retail  store  and  it  is  a  means  of  education  in  spelling,  writing,  English 
language,  system,  and  method.  Thus  it  becomes  to  the  ambitious  and  seri¬ 
ous  employee,  in  a  small  way,  a  university,  in  which  character  is  broadened, 
by  intelligent  instruction  practically  applied. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  389 

When  asked  if  a  man  with  means  but  no  experience  would  be  safe  in 
embarking  in  a  mercantile  business,  he  replied  quickly:  — 

A  man  who  has  never  seen  a  horse  can’t  drive  one.  No;  a  man  must 
have  training,  must  know  how  to  buy  and  sell;  only  experience  teaches 
that. 

I  have  heard  people  marvel  at  the  unbroken  upward  course  of  Mr, 
Wanamaker’s  career,  and  lament  that  they,  themselves,  so  often  make 
mistakes.  But  hear  him  :  — 

Who  does  not  make  mistakes  ?  Why,  if  I  were  to  think  only  of  the 
mistakes  I  have  made,  I  should  be  miserable  indeed. 

I  have  heard  it  said  a  hundred  times  that  Mr.  Wanamaker  started 
business  when  success  was  easy.  Here  is  what  he  says  himself  about 
it:  — 

I  think  I  could  succeed  as  well  now  as  in  the  past.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  conditions  of  to-day  are  even  more  favorable  to  success  than 
when  I  was  a  boy.  There  are  better  facilities  for  doing  business  and  more 
business  to  be  done.  Information  in  the  shape  of  books  and  newspapers 
is  now  in  the  reach  of  all,  and  the  young  man  has  two  opportunities 

where  he  formerly  had  one. 

% 

^^We  are  much  more  afraid  of  combinations  of  capital  than  we  have 
any  reason  for  being.  Competition  regulates  everything  of  that  kind.  No 
organization  can  make  immense  profits  for  any  length  of  time  without  its  field 
soon  swarming  with  competitors.  It  requires  brain  and  muscle  to  manage 
any  kind  of  business,  and  the  same  elements  which  have  produced  busi¬ 
ness  success  in  the  past  will  produce  it  now,  and  will  always  produce  it.^^ 


A  GROCER  AND  HIS  CHANCES  OF  SUCCESS 

By  FRANCIS  B.  THURBER 
Editor  of  the  American  Grocer'*'^ 

IN  CONSIDERING  thc  desirability  of  the  grocery  business  as  a  vocation, 
it  may  be  said  at  once  that  it  is  a  business  entirely  devoid  of  senti¬ 
ment.  It  is  a  line  of  work  based  upon  the  cold,  hard  lines  of  sup¬ 
ply  and  demand;  of  small  profits  and  quick  sales,  and  the  ability  to 
discriminate  between  good  and  bad  eredits. 

The  universal  demand  for  groceries  is  the  best  argument  in  favor  of 
the  grocer.  He  represents  a  daily  and  hourly  necessity  on  the  part  of 
the  people,  rieh  and  poor,  great  and  small.  If  he  possesses  a  fair  share 
of  business  tact,  and  a  physique  which  will  not  rebel  at  early  and  late 


390 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


hours,  he  certainly  has  a  field  in  which  to  obtain  a  good  living  and  a  fair 
chance  of  accumulating  a  competency.  There  are  so  many  conditions 
surrounding  the  trade,  that  there  is  no  fixed  standard  that  can  be  set 
up  for  assuring  success.  For  example,  a  painstaking  and  hard-working 
grocer  doing  business  on  an  avenue  on  the  west  side  of  New  York 
City,  in  an  experience  of  twenty  years,  encountered  three  different 
changes  of  environment.  The  neighborhood  was  first  filled  with  wealthv 
residents,  who  bought  the  best  grade  of  goods,  regardless  of  price;  then 
came  a  middle  class,  who  bought  groceries  economically,  from  month 
to  month.  He  is  now  catering  to  a  third  class,  one  that  subsists,  ap¬ 
parently,  from  day  to  day,  and  whose  purchases  conform  to  that 
method  of  living.  He  maintains  himself  where  others  might  fail,  be¬ 
cause  of  his  ability  to  adapt  himself  to  every  new  condition.  Herein 
lies  the  secret  of  a  grocer’s  success,  anywhere, —  adaptability.  The  cor¬ 
ner  grocer  carries  a  stock  of  vegetables  and  fruits,  and  caters  to  his  im¬ 
mediate  neighborhood.  The  French  grocer,  the  Italian,  the  Chinese, 
and  the  Hebrew,  carry  lines  that  their  respective  custom  calls  for,  and 
that  are  entirely  distinct  from  those  of  the  American  grocer. 

There  are  two  natural  subdivisions  of  the  American  trade:  that  of 
the  man  who  is  patronized  by  the  transient  class,  which  may  or  may  not 
include  family  trade,  but  which  is  never  retained  in  cornpetition  with 
cheaper  prices  in  other  stores,  and  that  of  the  man  who  caters  in  a  large 
way  to  families,  hotels,  and  restaurants.  The  natural  evolution  from 
both  these  subdivisions  is  the  survival  of  the  man  whose  credits  are 
well  distributed,  and  the  falling  by  the  wayside  of  the  one  who  has 
been  injudicious.  Many  are  forced  to  the  wall  by  the  accumulation  of 
apparently  small  credits,  extended  from  time  to  time  without  attracting 
special  attention.  Credits  almost  naturally  force  themselves  upon  the 
dealer.  If  he  is  strong,  and  a  good  student  of  human  nature,  he  will 
weed  out  the  bad  credits  and  cultivate  the  good  ones ;  but,  if  he  is  not 
alert,  he  will  find  himself  without  goods,  and,  also,  without  the  money  to 
pay  for  more. 

The  department  store  has  effected  a  great  change  in  the  grocery 
trade  of  the  large  cities.  The  ability  to  purchase  goods  in  large  quanti¬ 
ties  and  to  advertise  them  with  other  specialties,  and  the  natural  in¬ 
clination  of  the  trading  public  to  save  time  and  bother  by  purchasing 
everything  under  one  roof,  takes  the  trade  from  many  a  local  grocery. 
Thus  the  department,  store  may  take  the  profit  which  in  other  days  was 
divided  between  the  wholesale  and  retail  grocer.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  trade  has  been  injured  thereby. 

Improvements  are  constant  in  the  handling  of  groceries.  To-day  one 
can  purchase,  at  any  well-stocked  grocery  store,  almost  everything  in 
cans  or  jars,  all  cooked  and  ready  for  consumption,  which  lessens  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


391 


labor  of  the  retail  grocer  in  a  very  considerable  degree,  as  indeed  it  does 
that  of  the  housewife  who  patronizes  him. 

No  better  or  more  striking  example  of  success  in  the  grocery  line  can 
be  found  than  that  of  James  Butler,  a  thrifty,  hard-working  young  man, 
who  began  with  one  small  store,  and  the  determination  that  if  he  succeeded 
he  would  some  day  have  one  hundred.  In  1901,  after  a  dozen  years  of 
the  most  indefatigable  effort,  he  secured  that  number.  They  are 
widely  scattered,  in  all  sorts  of  localities,  from  the  tenement  districts  to 
the  fine  residential  neighborhoods.  His  example  of  giving  each  store 
exactly  what  its  own  customers  demand,  may  be  adopted  as  a  rule  for  a 
successful  grocer.  The  other  requirements  may  be  summed  up  as  fol¬ 
lows:  To  avoid  the  extending  of  credit,  unless  in  exceptional  instances; 
to  be  always  honest  with  customers,  and  to  employ  only  such  help  as  will 
win  trade  by  painstaking  attention  to  the  public,  and  devotion  to  the  in¬ 
terests  of  employers. 

BAKING  AS  A  BUSINESS  AND  AS  A  TRADE 

By  WILBUR  E.  CUSHMAN 

IN  CONSIDERING  the  baking  business  as  an  occupation,  a  young  man 
must  look  at  it  from  two  points  of  view,  namely,  its  practical  or 
technical  side  as  a  trade,  and  its  business  side.  To  make  my  point 
entirely  clear,  I  want  to  say  that  proficiency  in  both  these  lines  is  seldom 
combined  in  one  person.  The  majority  of  the  successful  bakers  in  our 
cities  never  baked  a  loaf  of  bread  in  their  lives.  The  instances  wherein 
the  journeyman  baker  graduates  into  the  position  of  a  proprietor  of  his 
own  store  are  rare  in  a  city  where  the  volume  of  business  is  great.  He 
is  much  more  successful  in  that  direction  in  a  small  village. 

The  attractions  offered  by  this  trade  are  few ;  the  hours  are  long,  and 
the  wages  seldom  range  higher  than  $12  or  $15  per  week.  In  this 
estimate,  however,  I  do  not  place  those  expert  bakers  whose  services 
are  now  very  much  in  demand  for  light  and  fancy  cake,  pastry,  and  deco¬ 
rative  work. 

Inasmuch  as  selling  bread  is  a  business,  and  not  a  trade,  we  must 
consider  it  from  that  standpoint.  The  successful  baker  must  have  a 
mastery  of  the  work  of  getting  his  wares  into  the  hands  of  consumers 
promptly  and  cheaply.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  that  he  should  bake  bread 
himself.  It  will  suffice  if  he  knows  when  it  is  well  and  properly  baked. 
It  is  because  a  mastery  of  the  business  is  essential  to  success,  and  a  mas¬ 
tery  of  the  trade  is  not,  that  the  lad  who  wants  to  become  a  successful 


392 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


baker  should  beg-in  with  the  delivery  wagon  or  behind  the  counter,  and 
leave  the  oven  alone. 

The  delivery  wagon  is  the  better  of  the  two  positions.  This  brings 
him  into  direct  contact  with  his  customers;  he  ascertains  their  needs, 
gives  them  the  prompt  service  without  which  custom  cannot  be  obtained, 
and  learns  to  discriminate  between  the  desirable  and  the  undesirable 
classes  of  custom.  This  personal  contact  enlarges  the  young  man’s 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  he  thereby  acquires  tact,  which  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  in  any  retail  business.  The  collection  of  bills  is 
one  of  the  duties  usually  assigned  to  him,  and  when  he  performs  this  most 
vital  part  of  the  baker’s  business  thoroughly,  he  is  in  a  fair  way  to  receive 
promotion. 

The  delivery  clerk  is  far  more  important  than  the  salesman  behind 
the  counter,  for  the  reason  that  the  bread  sold  by  the  latter  represents  a 
very  small  proportion  of  the  volume  of  sales.  The  deliveryman  is  held 
responsible  for  the  custom  along  his  route.  He  must  keep  it  up  to  a 
certain  standard,  and  give  proof  of  his  capacity  to  increase  his  patron¬ 
age.  This  places  him  in  the  line  of  advancement. 

The  next  step  is  to  become  a  foreman  of  the  delivery  wagons.  There 
he  learns  how  to  manage  men,  which  is  a  most  important  element  of 
success  in  every  business.  If  he  shows  himself  capable  of  keeping  pace 
with  increased  responsibilities,  he  is  next  promoted  to  the  charge  of  the 
shipping  department.  There  he  completes  his  schooling  and  is  in  a 
position,  if  he  can  command  the  means,  to  begin  business  for  himself.  To 
succeed  with  a  bakery  of  his  own,  several  very  important  considerations 
must  be  met.  Locality  is  of  the  first  importance ;  the  use  of  the  best 
materials  comes  next  in  order;  efficient  help  is  a  third  essential,  and  this 
can  be  obtained  only  by  paying  good  wages  to  thoroughly  competent 
workmen.  To  make  the  venture  permanently  profitable,  he  must  study 
the  nature  of  his  custom,  from  the  humblest  patron  to  the  highest.  He 
must  be  ever  ready  to  adopt  improved  methods,  to  insist  upon  the  high¬ 
est  degree  of  cleanliness,  and  to  cultivate  assiduously  the  good  will  of 
all.  If  he  can  turn  out  something  that  is  a  little  better  than  anything 
his  competitors  can  produce,  he  will  be  in  the  fortunate  position  of  a 
merchant  with  a  popular  trade  specialty,  and  will  make  money  readily. 


Note — President  Leenhuis,  of  the  United  Master  Bakers  of  America,  whih 
agreeing  in  part  with  Mr.  Cushman’s  conclusion,  thinks  it  equally  essential  for  an 
employing  baker  to  thoroughly  understand  the  mechanical,  as  well  as  the  business 
side,  of  his  work. 

In  support  of  this  contention  he  points  out  that  nearly  all  the  failures  in  the 
trade  are  the  result  of  poor  goods  put  before  the  public,  a  condition  of  things 
that  a  technically  trained  employer  would  not  be  confronted  with.  Two  of  the 


7 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE  393 

reforms  which  the  journeymen  bakers  are  asking,  at  the  hands  of  legislation,  are 
a  shortening  of  their  hours  of  labor  and  the  prohibition  of  basement  bakeshops. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  there  are  seven  brothers,  including  Wilbur  E. 
Cushman,  the  author  of  the  foregoing  article,  who  are  all  engaged  in  the  baking 
business  in  New  York,  and  that  none  of  them  ever  personall5^  baked  bread,  but 
began  with  the  delivery  wagon.  Inquiry  proves  this  to  be  true,  also,  of  a  majority 
of  the  successful  bakers  in  New  York. 


THE  SHOE  TRADE  AND  THE  CHANCES 

IT  OFFERS 


By  EDWARD  NEWTON  HAAG. 

Editor  of  Shoe  and  Leather  Facts 

NO  OTHER  trade  has  ever  witnessed  such  strange  and 
radical  revolutions  as  that  of  the  shoe  dealer.  From 
the  time  of  the  sandal  it  has  been  constantly  a 
profound  question  of  the  transmigration  of  soles.  From 
the  individual  shoe  shop  to  the  vast  factory  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  day,  the  transition  has  been  astonishingly  rapid.  The 
first  step  from  the  old  shop  to  the  modern  combination 
was  in  the  community  system  introduced  in  New  England, 
by  which  several  workmen  occupied  the  same  room  in  the 
interests  of  economy. 

During  the  period  of,  the  Civil  War,  the  pegging- 
machine  began  to  crowd  out  the  hammer  and  lapstone. 

Then  the  sewing-machine  began  its  attack  upon  the  awl 
and  the  wax-end,  and  rapidly  other  wonderful  machines  seized  upon 
each  part  of  the  shoe,  and  the  great  factory  was  evolved,  with  its  bat¬ 
talions  of  workmen,  each  devoted  to  but  a  single  feature  of  shoemaking. 

As  any  man  can  do  one  thing  better  than  many  things,  this  perfect 
method  of  producing  a  shoe  enhanced  many  times  the  value  of  the 
workmen.  Occasionally  some  feature  of  this  machinery  would  afford  a 
monopoly  of  manufacture,  but  only  in  one  department.  Usually  the 
machinery  was  owned  by  the  manufacturers  of  it,  and  was  leased  to  the 
manufacturers  of  shoes.  At  times,  the  machines  were  sold  outright. 
Formerly  the  system  of  leasing  was  complained  of  as  oppressive.  Now 
it  has  been  so  modified  that  little  is  said  against  it. 

In  all  circumstances,  the  new  system  of  producing  shoes  tended  to  re¬ 
duce  the  price  and  profit  of  a  single  pair.  Only  fifteen  years  ago  the 
profit  ranged  from  fifteen  to  one  hundred  per  cent.  Now  the  great  fac¬ 
tories,  producing  from  five  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  pairs  a  day,  are 
content  with  a  profit  of  from  one  to  five  cents  a  pair.  Inevitably,  this 


394 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


condition  has  worked  with  prodigious  force  against  the  small  manufac¬ 
turers,  and  many  of  them  have  been  crowded  out  of  business. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  reduction  of  price  by  the  manufacturer  has 
always  been  in  advance  of  the  education  of  the  shoe  buying  public. 
When  a  machine-made  shoe  was  first  put  upon  the  market  at  five  dollars 
or  six  dollars,  purchasers  fought  shy  of  it.  When  it  was  reduced  to  three 
dollars,  it  was  pronounced  certain  to  be  worthless.  It  is  now  a  fact  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  public  seek  a  two-dollar  or  two-dollar-and-a-half 
shoe,  and  know  they  can  get  the  worth  of  their  money  out  of  it. 

With  the  reduction  of  price,  consumption  has  increased.  Except  for 
the  higher-priced  goods,  the  repair  shop  has  been  relegated  to  the  back¬ 
ground.  The  cheap,  patched,  re-soled  and  re-heeled,  shoe,  is  seldom 
seen.  A  new  shoe  can  be  purchased  at  a  price  almost  as  low  as  the 
cost  of  the  repairing.  Men,  women,  and  children,  wear  three  pairs  of 
shoes  a  year,  where  formerly  they  wore  but  one. 

The  revolution  in  the  making  of  shoes  has  been  equaled  or  exceeded 
by  the  revolution  in  the  production  of  leather,  especially  of  the  finer 
grades.  Ten  years  ago  the  Morocco  Manufacturers’  National  Associa¬ 
tion,  then  with  fewer  than  one  hundred  men  in  control,  met  at  Long 
Branch,  and  among  other  things  discussed  the  decay  of  the  demand  for 
pebbles,  straight  grains,  and  maroons,  which  had  been  the  vogue 
for  one  hundred  years.  It  was  confessed  that  French  kid  was  the  fad, 
and  that  women  and  children  wanted  nothing  else.  General  J.  Parke 
Postles,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  declared  he  would  try  to  make  French 
kid.  Others  agreed  to  attempt  the'  solution  of  the  mystery.  Plants 
were  transformed  into  experiment  stations.  Profits  of  years  melted 
away  in  tests  of  the  virtues  of  alum  tannage,  which  was  supposed  to  be 
the  basis  of  the  French  method. 

The  leather  produced  was,  for  the  most  part,  brittle  and  worthless. 
Some  one  hit  upon  a  combination  of  gambier  and  alum,  and  a  great  im¬ 
provement  was  observed ;  soon  followed  the  invention  of  chrome  tan¬ 
nage,  made  by  the  use  of  chromic  acid.  By  this  method,  the  tannage  of 
kid  skins  was  revolutionized,  and  one  young  man,  to  whose  inventive  fac¬ 
ulty  the  device  was  largely  due,  and  who,  because  of  his  persistence  in 
expensive  experimentation  had  sunk  between  twenty  and  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  dollars,  became  a  millionaire. 

Within  the  ten  years  that  have  passed  since  the  Long  Branch  conven¬ 
tion,  every  foreign  skin  has  been  driven  out  of  America,  and  American 
tannage  controls  the  international  market.  From  the  glazed  kid,  popu¬ 
lar  fancy  is  now  passing  to  a  kid  with  a  patent-leather  finish,  and  Amer¬ 
ica  is  collecting  raw  goat  skins  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  sending 
its  wonderful  tannage,  beautiful,  pliable,  and  unharmed  by  water,  to  all 
parts  of  the  world. 


BUSINESvS  AND  COMMERCE 


395 


Although  the  price  of  goat  skins  has  considerably  advanced,  cheapen¬ 
ing  of  manufacture  and  increase  of  demand  have  led  to  lower  prices  of 
kid  shoes.  Women  and  children  are  not  permitted  to  monopolize  this 
material.  Seeing  the  beauty  and  comfort  of  the  kid,  men  demanded 
them  and  the  glazed  kid,  or  kid  with  patent-leather  finish,  is  now  almost 
as  commonly  worn  by  one  sex  as  by  the  other. 

Philadelphia  was  early  an  important  center  of  the  Morocco  trade, 
and  was  a  pioneer  in  the  manufacture  of  the  modern  glazed  kid.  It  is 
estimated  that  at  this  time  three-fifths  of  the  glazed  and  patent  kid  skins 
are  manufactured  at  Philadelphia.  One  factory  puts  out  twenty  million 
skins  a  year,  and  several  other  large  establishments  have  each  an  output 
of  five  thousand  dozens  of  skins  a  day.  While  the  great  shoe  manufactur¬ 
ing  cities  of  New  England  continue  to  hold  their  rank  in  production, 
vast  increase  of  consumption  is  met  largely  through  the  enterprise  of 
cities  farther  west.  Rochester,  Buffalo,.  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  Ports¬ 
mouth,  Chicago,  and  St.  Louis,  have  all  come  to  be  important  centers, 
and  one  of  the  largest  factories  in  the  country  for  women’s  shoes  is  es¬ 
tablished  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania. 

On  the  shoe  trade,  the  effect  of  the  great  department  store  develop¬ 
ment  was  in  some  sense  peculiar.  The  opportunity  to  make  immense 
sales  for  cash  tempted  jobbers  to  almost  conspire  against  themselves, 
for  they  often  ruined,  within  a  year  or  two,  a  retail  trade  that  had 
been  thirty  or  forty  years  in  growing.  What  were  for  a  time  ab¬ 
normal  conditions,  are  now  arranging  themselves  rationally.  The  bar¬ 
gain  counter  is  known  to  be  not  so  much  of  a  bargain  counter  after 
all,  and  with  better  times  there  is  a  decided  revival  of  the  single  line 
trade. 

A  new  feature  of  the  retail  business  is  a  tendency  toward  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  exclusive  stores  for  women,  often  managed  by  women,  and 
its  patrons  waited  upon  solely  by  women.  It  is  a  trend  of  the  trade 
which  is  looked  upon  by  some  as  a  humorous  fad;  but  the  probability  is 
that  it  has  come  to  stay.  The  constructive  and  executive  abilities  of 
women,  in  this  day,  are  apparently  illimitable. 

With  combination  of  interests  in  this  trade,  which  represents  an  in¬ 
vestment  of  more  than  a  billion  dollars,  the  old-time  salesman  has  dis¬ 
appeared  to  some  extent,  as  he  has  from  other  businesses.  In  place  of  the 
rollicking,  startling  salesman  of  other  days,  there  is  a  more  quiet,  in¬ 
telligent,  and  convincing  man,  working  upon  a  larger  salary.  His  responsi¬ 
bilities  are  greater.  In  some  sense  his  responsibility  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  purchaser  for  the  great  stores  where,  in  a  single  department,  over 
five  million  dollars’  worth  of  shoes  is  purchased  per  annum,  and  the  pur¬ 
chaser  dictates  to  his  manufacturer  the  styles  and  qualities,  thus  follow¬ 
ing  the  shoe  from  the  raw  stock  to  the  retail  sale. 


396 


BUSINESS  AND  COxMMERCE 


As  to  the  present  chances  for  a  beginner  being  better  or  worse  than 
those  of  old,  I  am  satisfied  that  the  opportunity  for  engaging  successfully 
in  the  shoe  trade  is  as  great  now  as  it  has  ever  been.  Brains  and  enter¬ 
prise,  in  this  business,  have  never  been  at  a  higher  premium. 

Let  one  say  what  he  will  in  relation  to  trusts  and  combines,  monopo¬ 
lies  of  machinery  and  monopolies  of  tanning  processes,  the  retail  trade 
remains  practically  an  open  field,  and  there  are  reasons  why  the  young 
man,  of  a  bent  of  mind  especially  adaptable  to  the  business,  should  find 
the  field  more  inviting  than  did  the  young  men  of  years  ago.  The  per¬ 
sonal  equation,  which  seemed  at  times  to  be  threatened  with  elimination 
by  the  aggression  of  the  department  store  and  the  establishment  of  retail 
stores  by  large  manufacturers,  is  as  insistent  as  ever.  Purchasers,  even 
in  the  larger  cities,  and  notably  in  less  populous  communities,  like  to  buy 
from  the  individual  owner,  from  an  acquaintance,  from  one  who  has 
grown  up  in  the  business  within  their  own  knowledge.  They  are  willing 
to  pay  a  trifle  more  on  account  of  the  sentiment  associated  with  the  per¬ 
sonal  element. 

Any  bright  and  promising  young  man,  desiring  to  engage  in  the  shoe 
business,  may  now  easily  acquire  a  fine  stock  with  the  backing  of  the 
manufacturer  or  large  dealer.  Years  ago  he  would  have  been  compelled 
to  look  to  his  own  resources.  His  place  once  stocked,  success  or  failure 
depends  upon  himself.  All  this  is  important,  for  the  individual  and  dis¬ 
tinctive  trader,  supervising  his  own  business,  is  now,  and  will  remain,  a 
vital  element  of  the  trade  at  large. 


THE  MANUFACTURE  AND  SALE  OF  HATS 

By  A.  L.  BELDEN 
Editor  of  the  ^^Hat  Review 

The  old-time  hatter,  who  possessed  the  requisite  knowledge  and  skill 
to  develop  from  a  given  number  of  ounces  of  fur  a  hat  perfect  and 
entire  and  wanting  nothing,  has  almost  wholly  passed  from  the 
scene  of  activity  in  the  hat  manufacturing  industry.  In  his  stead  we 
now  find  factories  of  varying  magnitude  in  which  the  work  is  conducted 
by  men  and  women  skilled  only  in  a  part  of  the  work,  or  engaged  simply 
as  guides  and  overseers  of  the  machines  now  employed  in  practically 
every  process  of  production.  .  Where  formerly  the  individual  workman 
possessed  and  exercised  the  ability  to  make  the  hat  from  beginning  to 
end,  requiring  two  or  three  days  for  the  production  of  a  single  hat,  to¬ 
day  a  large  manufactory,  employing  probably  four  hundred  hands,  will 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


397 


have  a  daily  output  of,  in  round  numbers,  a  thousand  dozen  hats  ready 
to  wear,^^ 

The  all-round  hatter  has  given  place  to  trained  men  and  women  des¬ 
ignated  as  formers,  sizers,  blockers,  dyers,  curlers,  trimmers,  and  numer¬ 
ous  other  titles  indicative  of  the  particular  part  of  the  work  which  each 
performs;  all  these  are  usually  included  in  three  divisions,  namely, 
makers,  finishers,  and  trimmers.  Each  ordinary  stiff  or  soft  fur  hat,  as 
will  be  readily  inferred,  passes  through  these  several  hands,  a  dozen  or 
more,  before  it  is  completed. 

The  work  of  making  a  derby,  an  alpine,  or  a  crusher,  really  begins  in 
the  field,  being  dependent  in  the  first  step  upon  the  hunter  or  trapper, 
for  as  a  hat- is  made  of  fur  it  is  plain  that  you  must  first  catch  your  beaver, 
nutria,  rabbit,  hare,  coney,  or  other  small  wild  animal,  to  obtain  the  essen¬ 
tial  fur.  The  skins  of  these  furry  creatures,  after  the  hunter  or  trapper 
has  sent  them  to  market,  are  taken  by  the  fur  cutter  and  are  to  some 
extent  plucked  of  the  long  coarse  hair;  they  are  next  treated  to  a  solu¬ 
tion  of  nitric  or  sulphuric  acid,  which  is  brushed  over  the  fur  to  kill  the 
natural  animal  oil  it  contains,  in  order  to  insure  free  and  perfect  felting. 
The  fur  is  then  cut  from  the  skin  by  a  machine  called  a  devil,  through 
which  the  fur  passes  undisturbed  upon  an  endless  apron,  making  it  a  very 
easy  matter  to  separate  it  rapidly  into  the  parts  of  differing  values  for  the 
intended  purpose,  the  fur  from  the  cheeks  and  tails,  the  belly,  and  the  back 
of  the  same  animal  varying  materially  in  both  fineness  and  strength.  The 
fur  is  next  manipulated  by  a  machine  known  as  the  blower, to  more 
completely  separate  the  coarse  hairs,  which  do  not  felt,  from  the  finer 
and  softer  and  readily-felting  fur.  In  this  process,  each  class  of  fur  is 
kept  separate,  and  is  subsequently  weighed  out  and  put  up  in  packages, 
mystically  marked,  and  is  then  purchased  by  the  hat  manufacturer,  by 
whom  it  is  not  usually  used  exactly  as  purchased,  as  each  maker  of  hats 
uses  sundry  mixtures  of  fur  which  he  holds  as  secrets  of  his  own,  and 
which  are  really  of  leading  importance  both  from  the  standpoint  of 
quality  and  price. 

In  beginning  operations,  the  hat  manufacturer  weighs  out  this  fur 
with  extreme  precision  in  single  hat  lots,  and  it  is  then  sent  to  the  form¬ 
ing  room,  where  it  is  put  through  a  machine  known  as  the  former,'^ 
the  fur  being  carried  by  a  current  of  air  through  a  chamber  to  be  re¬ 
ceived  upon  a  revolving  copper  cone,  only  one  body  or  hat  being 
formed  at  a  time ;  when  all  the  fur  to  make  this  body  has  been  deposited 
upon  the  cone,  the  fur-covered  cone  is  removed,  wrapped  in  a  wet  cloth 
and  immersed  in  hot  water,  and  is  then  slipped  from  the  cone  and 
passed  on  to  the  examiner,  who  touches  up  weak  spots  by  adding  particles 
of  fur.  This  bat  or  body  of  fur  is  again  wrapped  in  a  cloth  in  which 
it  is  gently  rolled  to  harden,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  necessary 


398 


BUSINESS  AND  CO:\IMERCE 


consistency  of  felting,  and  is  then  ready  for  sizing,  by  hand  or  machine, 
the  hand-work  being  performed  in  the  battery,  which  consists  of  a 
structure  of  four  or  more  sections  surrounding  a  central  compartment 
filled  with  hot  water,  into  which  the  body  is  dipped  from  time  to  time 
during  the  operation  of  rolling  or  sizing  —  for  the  purpose  of  shrinking 
the  cone  to  the  required  hat  size.  The  body  is  then  dried,  and  the 
exterior  surface  is  shaved  by  a  sharp  knife  to  remove  the  remaining 
hairs. 

Subsequent  processes  include  second -si zing,  for  further  reduction 
and  more  perfect  felting;  stiffening, which  is  effected  with  a  solution 
of  shellac  in  alcohol,  or  shellac  in  water,  the  hats  thus  stiffened  being 
designated  as  wine-stiff  or  water-stiff.  Drying  again  becomes  nec¬ 
essary,  and  then  dyeing,  and  afterward  blocking,  the  body  being 
shaped  upon  a  block  of  the  required  set  and  size.  The  hat  is  next  put 
through  the  finishing  processes,  including  ironing  and  a  general  touch¬ 
ing  up.  It  is  next  curled,  the  brim  being  shaped  or  set,  rolled  high 
or  low  or  left  ^^flatset,^^  according  to  the  style  to  be  produced.  Not 
merely  highly  skilled  but  peculiarly  skilled  labor,  the  highest  paid  in 
hatting,  is  employed  in  curling.  Finally  the  hat  is  given  to  the  trim¬ 
mers,  women  and  girls,  who  sew  in  the  leather,  the  ^^tip,^^  and  lining 
when  required,  bind  the  brim  and  put  on  the  band  and  bow.  After 
careful  examination,  the  finished  hats  are  packed  in  paper  boxes,  and 
these  are  put  in  wooden  cases  —  and  when  the  shipping  clerk  has  deliv¬ 
ered  the  cases  to  the  expressman,  the  hats  pass  from  fur  to  forgetful¬ 
ness,  as  far  as  the  manufacturer  is  concerned. 

The  silk  hat  is  manufactured  by  a  less  intricate  process  than  is  the 
derby.  The  most  important  material  for  the  former,  that  is,  the  silk 
plush,  is  imported  from  France.  It  is  made  there  by  a  process  which  is 
a  secret  that  American  hatters  have  tried  in  vain  to  fathom.  The  mak¬ 
ing  of  silk  plush  has  often  been  attempted  in  this  country,  and  our  prod¬ 
uct  appears  to  be  fully  as  good  as  the  French  until  a  hot  iron  is  applied 
to  it  for  finishing,  when  it  immediately  acquires  a  brownish  tinge  and 
is  useless  as  material  for  hats. 

Making  the  braid  straw  hat  is  a  simpler  process  than  any  of  the  oth¬ 
ers.  The  braid  is  almost  wholly  imported  from  China,  Italy,  and  Japan, 
and  when  received  usually  must  be  bleached  or  dyed,  according  to 
whether  it  is  to  be  used  for  white  or  colored  hats.  After  the  bleaching 
or  dyeing,  the  braid  is  ready  to  be  sewed  into  hat  shape,  girls  doing  this 
work  on  specially  constructed  sewing-machines,  and  finishers  pressing 
the  hats  into  the  shapes  specified  by  the  designers. 

Since  the  hat  is  subject  to  the  caprices  of  fashion,  its  effective  produc¬ 
tion  affords  the  individual  maker  ample  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of 
artistic  taste.  The  greater  the  development  of  art  in  the  finishing 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


399 


touches,  the  larger  the  measure  of  success  achieved  by  the  manufacturer,* 
providing,  of  course,  that  the  quality  is  up  to  the  standard. 

Hats  constitute  a  commodity  in  universal  demand,  and  any  man  of 
strong  business  sense,  good  taste  and  abounding  industry,  who  is  able  to 
make  a  hat  that  will  appeal  to  the  buyer  as  being  good  in  quality  and 
attractive  in  shape,  should  be  able  to  achieve  success  as  a  manufacturer 
of  hats.  Throughout  the  country,  there  are  numerous  hat-makers  con¬ 
ducting  business  on  a  moderate  scale,  who  have  not  been  driven  to  the 
wall  by  the  competition  of  the  great  manufacturers,  but  who  make  good 
hats  and  are  doing  enough  business  to  enable  them  to  accumulate  mod¬ 
est  fortunes. 


CONDITIONS  IN  THE  HARDWARE  BUSINESS 

By  EDWARD  C.  VAN  GLAHN 

President  Hardware  Association,  New  York 

Two  things  give  to  the  hardware  business  an  attraction  that  is  not  en¬ 
joyed  by  many  other  mercantile  lines,  namely,  the  staple  character 
of  the  goods  and  the  universality  of  the  market  for  them.  All  prod¬ 
ucts  of  iron,  of  steel,  of  tin,  of  copper,  and  the  tensile  metals,  have  an 
intrinsic  value  which  is  variable  only  to  an  insignificant  degree.  There¬ 
fore,  a  stock  of  goods  purchased  by  the  hardware  merchant  represents  a 
greater  negotiable  value  than  does  the  manufactured  product  of  almost 
any  other  material. 

The  marketable  value  of  goods  of  this  character  is  derived,  of  course, 
from  their  general  use,  and  from  the  fact  that  they  enter  into  every 
trade  and  constructive  vocation,  from  the  fine  watchmaker’s  craft  to  the 
tremendous  operations  of  the  iron  steamship  maker.  Another  point  is 
this:  The  great  iron  industries  of  the  United  States  are  still  in  their  in¬ 
fancy,  and,  with  their  growth,  will  come  wider  fields  and  greater  opera¬ 
tions  for  the  dealer  in  hardware,  whose  business  is  so  closely  connected 
with  the  mine  and  smelter.  Of  the  many  million  dollars  earned  in  the 
iron  business  during  the  year  1900,  a  fair  percentage  found  its  way  into 
the  hands  of  the  retail  hardware  man.  For  all  these  reasons,  and  for 
‘others  which  I  may  be  permitted  to  mention,  this  is  a  clean  and  honor¬ 
able  calling,  and  its  future  is  very  bright. 

The  hardware  business  of  recent  years  has  grown  to  include  a  vast 
variety  of  specially  patented  articles,  paints,  oils,  and  yacht  supplies,  in 
addition  to  the  lines  formerly  carried, ‘and  the  business  is  still  in  a  transi¬ 
tory  period.  In  order,  therefore,  to  be  successful,  the  young  man  who 


400 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


selects  this  as  the  opportunity  he  is  seeking  for  a  life-work,  must  keep 
pace  with  the  changing  conditions.  New  inventions  are  probably  more 
numerous  here  than  in  any  other  branch  of  trade. 

The  training  which  is  most  useful  is  that  given  by  learning  the  busi¬ 
ness  behind  the  counter.  The  great  variety  of  goods  generally  carried 
in  stock,  and  the  frequent  changes  in  prices,  require  a  trained  memory 
and  careful  attention  to  details,  habits  of  neatness,  and  method.  In 
striving  to  attain  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  branches  of  the  trade,  a 
young  man  learns  to  economize  his  time;  and  a  careful,  persistent  effort 
to  become  familiar  with  the  new  conditions  and  new  requirements  will 
equip  a  clerk  for  a  career  as  proprietor  of  a  business  of  his  own. 

Of  course  there  are  stumbling  blocks.  One  should  be  careful,  espe¬ 
cially,  in  stocking  up.  It  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  hardware 
trade  that  a  new  device  may  revolutionize  an  established  demand  and 
render  obsolete  the  older  article  which  formerly  satisfied  that  demand. 
A  small  stock,  frequently  replenished,  obviates  this  difficulty.  The 
market  is  also  filled  with  devices  which  appear  to  be  useful,  but  which 
become  dead  stock  because  of  the  fact  that  the  public  does  not  use  them. 
A  good  rule  to  apply  to  the  purchase  of  patented  devices  is  to  keep  well 
within  the  demand.  No  hardware  dealer  has  ever  yet  been  found  who 
had  the  keen  discrimination  and  the  ability  to  select  the  salable  from' 
the  unsalable  in  the  line  of  new  inventions  in  advance  of  actual  trade 
experience. 

One  of  the  most  important  departments  of  the  hardware  business  is 
that  of  building  material.  As  this  trade  is  largely  with  builders,  who 
buy  on  time  and  expect  to  pay  for  the  goods  as  buildings  are  completed, 
it  requires  good  business  judgment  to  know  when  to  extend  credit  and 
when  to  insist  upon  cash.  Many  an  ambitious  hardware  merchant  has 
been  wrecked  on  the  rock  of  the  speculative  builder.  The  wholesale 
houses  are  by  no  means  free  from  danger  in  discriminating  between  the 
reliable  and  the  unreliable  retailer  whom  they  furnish  with  stock. 

In  times  of  prosperity,  when  iron  and  all  its  products  receive  a  dis¬ 
tinct  boom,  conservative  methods  are  not  less  necessary  than  in  times  of 
depression,  when  credits  are  supposed  to  suffer  most.  In  the  demand 
for  tools,  implements  of  trade,  builder’s  hardware,  cutlery,  kitchen  uten¬ 
sils,  and  the  finer  specialties,  there  is  very  little  difference  as  between 
the  two  economic  extremes.  Good  goods  are  always  needed  and  can 
always  be  sold  by  people  who  know  their  markets.  The  profits  are  sub¬ 
stantial  enough  to  justify  the  investment  of  all  the  capital,  and  all  the 
attention  to  details,  now  given  to  this  line. 

One  of  the  largest  dealers  in  hardware,  whose  life  has  been  for  many 
years  an  inspiration  to  young  men,  in  speaking  of  his  business  as  a  de¬ 
sirable  one  for  young  men  to  enter,  has  said :  If  I  had  to  live  my  life 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


401 


over  again,  I  should  unhesitatingly  choose  the  hardware  business, 
although  I  know  there  are  many  who  will  not  agree  with  this  view.  I 
know  of  no  better  training  school  for  a  young  man  than  to  go  behind  the 
counter  of  a  hardware  store  and  learn  the  business  from  the  bottom  to 
the  top.  It  throws  one  in  contact  with  people  in  every  walk  and  condi¬ 
tion  of  life,  and  the  experience  gained,  if  properly  utilized,  broadens  and 
develops  a  man  and  fits  him  for  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  life.'^ 


\ 


SUCCESS  IN  SELLING  CLOTHING 


The  clothing  business  is  naturally  of  vast  extent  and  great  importance. 
The  men  who  make  and  sell  clothes  comprise  a  large  and  influen¬ 
tial  body  of  citizens,  and  in  their  ranks  there  is  always  a  career  for 
the  young  man  of  business  instinct  and  ability.  It  is  a  fact  that  nearly 
all  of  the  biggest  manufacturers  of  clothing  in  the  country  began  behind 
the  counter  of  the  retail  store  or  in  the  workshop  of  the  factory.  The 
leaders  in  the  business  are  men  who  are  experienced  in  every  step  of 
clothing  manufacture,  from  the  making  to  the  final  disposal  of  the  gar¬ 
ment. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  business  is  managed  as  follows:  A  number  of 
cloth  factories  are  financed,  or  aided,  by  a  commission  house,  which 
undertakes  to  place  their  product  with  the  wholesale  cloth  dealers  and 
wholesale  makers  of  ready-made  clothing.  The  wholesale  cloth  dealers 
supply  the  retailers  and  merchant  tailors,  and  the  wholesale  ready-made 
clothing  manufacturers  supply  the  stores,  which  in  turn  sell  to  the  peo¬ 
ple. 

Styles,  fashions,  patterns,  and  textures  change  frequently;  so  it  is 

desirable  for  a  man  in  one  branch  to  be  acquainted  with  the  details  in 

the  other  branches.  Hence,  the  opportunity  for  the  young  clerk  in  a 

retail  store  to  prove  his  ability  and  rise  nearer  to  the  actual  production, 

where  there  is  alw^ays  the  greatest  capital  and  profit. 

Fortunes  are  to  be  made  in  the  retail  clothing  business  by  men  of 

ability,  taste,  and  judgment.  In  many  occupations,  success  is  achieved 

by  adhering  closely  to  a  regular  course  of  business  roLitine,  but  in  the 

clothing  business  one  must  have  wider  sympathies  and  perceptions.  It 

will  be  noticed  that  in  cities  of  moderate  size,  the  leading  clothier  is 

often  a  public  spirited  citizen,  as  well  as  a  man  of  business  ability.  He 

keeps  in  the  closest  touch  with  the  townspeople.  He  studies  their 

wants  and  desires  and  tries  to  know  them  and  to  be  personally  known 

by  them. 

13—26 


402 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


Another  important  qualification  in  the  man  who  would  manage  or 
own  a  successful  clothing  establishment  is  executive  ability.  The  busi¬ 
ness  is  one  requiring  many  employees,  and  the  employees,  to  the  eye  of 
the  customer,  reflect  the  business  itself.  The  manager  selects  conscien¬ 
tious  men  and  trusts  them,  giving  them  all  the  responsibility  they  can 
carry.  He  trains  efficient  officers  and  makes  them  responsible  for  the 
work  of  those  under  them  in  their  department. 

The  rewards  of  the  clothing  business  are  of  course  commensurate 
with  the  scope  with  which  it  is  carried  on.  In  a  small  way,  it  is  a  safe  and 
conservative  business,  always  assuring  a  comfortable  living  to  the  care¬ 
ful  man.  On  a  larger  scale,  it  becomes  more  speculative  and  requires 
much  greater  capital.  Wholesale  houses,  large  commission  houses,  and 
factories,  deal  in  millions  of  dollars’  worth  of  goods  annually,  and  to  com¬ 
petent  administrators  yield  large  margins  of  profits. 


MAKING  AND  SELLING  JEWELRY 

By  CHARLES  L.  TIFFANY 

Of  Tijfany  Co. 

Business  honor  and  artistic  taste  are  pre-requisites  of  success  in  the 
jewelry  trade.  This  is  a  country  of  wealth,  and  all  but  its  most 
humble  citizens  are  purchasers  of  jewelry  in  one  form  or  another. 
Consequently,  it  is  a  prosperous  land  for  the  jeweler,  and,  indeed,  no 
trader  or  merchant  is,  on  the  whole,  more  respected  in  the  community 
than  he.  It  is  a  business  requiring  many  special  qualifications,  some  of 
them  to  be  acquired  by  learning  and  experience ;  others  must  be  natural 
possessions.  A  fine,  keen,  highly-trained  judgment  is  essential  to  the 
jeweler.  He  deals  in  the  smallest  and  most  precious  goods,  and  a  trifling 
error  of  judgment  may  mean  the  difference  between  profit  and  loss. 

The  cheat,  the  counterfeiter,  and  the  burglar  are  the  special  enemies 
of  the  jeweler.  Imitations  of  the  valuable  metals  and  counterfeits  of 
the  precious  stones  are,  through  scientific  processes,  becoming  more  mar¬ 
velous  each  day;  so  the  expert  must  never  stand  still  in  his  knowledge 
if  he  expects  to  escape  being  defrauded.  His  precautions  against  the 
robber  and  burglar  must  be  equal  to  every  new  attempt  to  despoil  him. 
Therefore  his  defense  is  frequently  costly. 

The  relation  of  the  jeweler  to  the  public  is  peculiar.  He  stands,  as 
to  his  customer,  in  a  light  occupied  by  scarcely  any  other  tradesman. 
Rarely  does  the  purchaser  know  the  exact  value  of  the  article  he  is  buy- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


403 

ing.  He  must  rely  upon  the  honesty  of  the  jeweler  to  avoid  being-  de¬ 
ceived  with  an  imitation  of  little  value,  and  upon  his  honor  that  too  large 
a  profit  is  not  exacted  from  him.  On  this  account  reputation  is  the  most 
valuable  asset  of  the  trading  jeweler.  His  business  is  practically  assured 
when  his  reputation  as  a  reliable  dealer  is  established. 

There  is  another  and  important  side  to  the  success  of  the  jeweler. 
He  must  have  an  artistic  taste.  He  must  himself  be  an  artist.  More 
and  more,  people  are  coming  to  realize  that  inartistic  jewelry  is  far  worse 
than  no  jewelry  at  all.  If  the  jeweler  is  unable  to  design  or  execute 
artistically  himself,  he  should  at  least  possess  the  ability  to  dictate  to 
others  how  his  customers  should  be  served.  This  applies  even  where  the 
jeweler  is  a  small  retailer  depending  upon  the  wholesale  houses  for  his 
stock ;  for,  unless  he  keeps  an  attractive  and  artistic  stock,  he  has  little 
chance  of  disposing  of  his  goods  in  paying  quantities.  Jewelry  sells 
through  its  appearance. 

The  manufacture  of  high-class  jewelry  might  be  said  to  be  still  in  its 
infancy  in  America.  A  few  years  ago  there  was  not  a  single  diamond- 
cutter  working  regularly  in  the  United  States.  All  our  diamonds  had  to 
be  sent  to  Amsterdam  and  other  places  in  Europe  to  be  cut  or  recut,  but 
in  recent  years  some  of  the  greatest  cutting  experts  in  the  world  have 
received  employment  in  New  York.  One  of  the  largest  establishments 
here  keeps  several  cutters  busy,  and  it  is  beyond  question  that  the  in¬ 
dustry  will  grow  with  leaps  and  bounds,  like  all  other  industries  in  this 
country.  Diamonds  being  the  most  popular  stones,  the  quantity  of  them 
dealt  in  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  gems ;  pearls  come  next,  but  all 
precious  stones  are  dealt  in,  in  large  quantities. 

The  profits  made  by  the  jeweler  are  variable.  The  nature  and  quality 
of  his  business  determines  what  percentage  he  shall  exact  on  his  invest¬ 
ment.  Even  in  the  manufacturing  department  of  the  trade,  in  which 
nearly  half  a  million  people  are  now  engaged,  so  great  is  the  possible  varia¬ 
tion  in  skill  and  expertness,  that  no  fixed  rate  of  remuneration  for  services 
is  possible.  An  artistic  designer  can  earn  from  $150  to  $350  a  month. 
An  expert  judge  of  stones  is  equally  well  paid.  Salaries  of  the  higher 
class  of  workers  in  the  factories  range  from  $30  a  week  to  $100.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  a  large  number  of  poorly-paid  workers  in  the  jew¬ 
elry  trade.  In  a  factory  where  gold  chains  are  made,  in  a  neighboring 
state,  the  average  wage  for  women  workers  is  slightly  less  than  $6  a 
week,  and  the  average  for  men  is  $9  or  fio;  of  the  carders,  press  hands, 
and  enamelers,  the  women  receive  from  $5  to  $12  and  the  men  from  $8 
to  $22.  The  workers  who  actually  make  the  jewelry,  however,  are  a 
well-paid  body  of  artisans,  earning  anywhere  from  $20  to  $150  a  week. 


404 


THE  DRUGGIST  AND  HIS  BUSINESS 

By  JOHN  A.  SNIVELT 
Editor  The  Druggists'  Circular'*^ 

IT  WAS  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the  young  man  who  had  aspirations 
to  become  a  druggist  began  as  a  general  utility  lad  in  the  shop  of  an 
apothecary.  There  he  served  for  several  years  at  the  undignified 
and  profitless  task  of  washing  bottles,  sweeping  the  floor,  making  the  fire, 
and  running  errands.  More  economical  methods,  from  which  drudgery, 
formerly  considered  by  old  fogies  an  essential  element,  is  practically 
eliminated,  have  been  evolved  for  the  training  of  a  druggist.  Under  the 
old  system,  a  young  man  might  spend  ten  years  as  an  apprentice,  and  at 
the  end  of  that  period  possess  but  a  limited  understanding  of  his  busi¬ 
ness,  because  of  his  very  slight  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  pharmacy ; 
only  such  knowledge,  in  fact,  as  he  could  pick  up  by  untrained  reading 
from  books,  or  as  his  employer  might  choose  to  impart.  It  followed, 
therefore,  that  he  found  himself  compelled  to  work  in  very  narrow 
grooves,  and  that  he  would  be  handicapped  by  lack  of  training  in  the 
development  of  his  business,  and,  later,  would  be  obliged  to  go  back,  and, 
at  great  loss  to  himself,  supply  his  deficiencies  or  find  himself  dependent 
upon  the  knowledge  of  other  men.  This  phase  of  the  situation  has  be¬ 
come  so  important  that  it  is  now  being  agitated  throughout  the  whole 
country,  and  it  is  strongly  urged  that  graduation  from  a  school  of  phar¬ 
macy  be  made  the  condition  of  application  for  examination  by  the  state 
board  of  pharmacy.  The  wisdom  of  such  a  course  is  obvious.  In  some 
states  a  college  diploma  is  accepted,  and  no  further  examination  by  the 
board  of  pharmacy  is  required. 

The  course  in  the  ordinary  college  of  pharmacy,  to-day,  covers  a 
period  of  three  years,  and  is  divided  into  three  sessions  of  six  months 
each.  Matriculation  and  lecture  tickets  cost  about  eighty  dollars  for  the 
first  year;  pharmaceutical  work  and  chemical  work  are  extra.  About 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  young  men  who  are  attending  lectures  at 
colleges  of  pharmacy  are  at  the  same  time  working  in  drug  stores.  Such 
a  life,  however,  is  arduous,  and  it  takes  a  plucky  and  ambitious  man  to 
endure  it. 

The  drug  business  is  in  a  state  of  transition.  The  question  is:  Shah 
the  functions  of  the  drug  seller  and  the  pharmacist  be  separated.  The 
pharmacist  prepares  drugs,  while  the  druggist  of  to-day  sells  everything, 
from  salts  to  combs  and  brushes.  The  one  is  a  scientific  man,  the  other 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


405 


a  merchant.  Commercialism  has  been  so  aggressive  as  to  force  the 
fusion  of  science  and  business, —  two  eminently  uncongenial  companions, 
— and  this  companionship  has  operated  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  scien¬ 
tific  man.  Under  the  present  system,  the  pharmacist  is  deprived  of 
many  emoluments  of  his  profession.  He  is  called  upon  to  prescribe  for 
patients  as  well  as  to  prepare  the  medicine,  a  service  for  which  he  should 
receive  the  same  pay  as  a  physician.  A  man  goes  into  a  drug  store,  de¬ 
scribes  the  symptoms  of  his  complaint  to  the  man  behind  the  counter, 
and  asks  for  a  remedy.  If  a  box  of  ointment  is  prepared  from  simple 
and  inexpensive  ingredients,  and  a  fair  price  is  charged,  the  customer 
complains  that  he  is  being  imposed  upon.  He  does  not  take  into  con¬ 
sideration  that  he  has  received  the  benefit  of  the  druggist’s  skill  in  pre¬ 
scribing,  and  has  escaped  the  payment  of  a  physician’s  fee. 

For  many  years  the  relations  between  the  druggist  and  the  physician 
were  harmonious.  The  former  sought  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
latter  by  sending  patients  to  him,  and  the  physician  reciprocated  by  put- 
ting  all  his  prescription  business  in  the  hands  of  the  druggist  who  fa¬ 
vored  him.  The  relations  to-day  between  the  druggist  and  the  physician 
are  different  —  in  many  cases  strained.  Physicians  complain  that  drug¬ 
gists  are  depriving  them  of  business  by  treating  minor  cases,  and  by 
urging  the  use  of  proprietary  medicines,  upon  which  considerable  profit 
is  realized.  The  druggists,  on  the  other  hand,  claim  that  as  proprietary 
medicines  are  usually  designed  to  relieve  specific  ailments,  there  is  no 
impropriety  in  their  suggesting  the  use  of  them  where  the  symptoms. are 
unmistakable. 

Of  late  years,  science  has  multiplied,  and  investigation  has  developed, 
new  and  valuable  cures.  The  use  of  chemicals  has  become  more  exten¬ 
sive  and,  consequently,  the  proper  understanding  of  them  requires  much 
study.  The  liability  to  make  mistakes  in  the  making  up  of  prescriptions 
has  increased,  and,  therefore,  greater  care  and  skill  are  necessary.  As  a 
protection  to  themselves,  rather  than  as  a  protection  to  the  public,  the 
druggists  have  in  many  instances  brought  about  the  enactment  of  laws 
which  define  the  responsibility  of  the  drug  clerk,  and  prescribe  penalties 
for  errors  that  may  be  the  result  of  either  ignorance  or  carelessness. 

It  would  seem  that,  with  his  increasing  responsibilities,  the  pay  of 
the  drug  clerk  should  increase  proportionately;  but  this  has  not  been 
the  case,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  what  some  claim  to  twe  the  overcrowding 
of  the  business.  Colleges  of  pharmacy  continue  to  turn  out  graduates 
•  considerably  in  advance  of  the  increase  of  the  drug  business.  It  has 
been  the  idle  dream  of  many  that  the  profits  of  the  drug  business  are 
particularly  alluring.  It  is  true  that  the  profits  upon  certain  goods  are 
large  —  say  two  hundred  per  cent.,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  profits 
upon  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  goods  sold  are  small,  which  brings  the 


4o6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


average  profit  down,  in  many  cases,  to  a  non-paying  basis.  Another 
feature  of  the  drug  business  that  attracts  many  young  men  is  its 
element  of  professionalism.  They  consider  it  more  dignified  to  follow 
a  business  which  requires  a  college  training,  than  to  become  a  clerk  in  a 
dry-goods  shop  or  a  grocery  store. 

But,  while  the  profession  of  pharmacy  is  considered  by  many  of  its 
followers  to  be  rather  overcrowded,  the  same  might  be  said  of  all  pro¬ 
fessions.  The  country  drug  store,  or  the  drug  store  located  in  some  vil¬ 
lage  or  town  remote  from  the  great  cities,  is  considered  the  more 
promising  field  of  endeavor  for  the  rising  druggist.  In  such  places  he 
has  not  the  great  department  stores  to  compete  with.  There,  also,  he 
can  bring  the  element  of  personality  into  operation  to  his  advantage, 
whereas,  in  the  great  cities  his  individuality  may  be  lost  sight  of  by  the 
passing  throng. 


HINTS  ON  THE  VOCATION  OF  THE 

LUMBERMAN 

IN  THE  United  States,  where  the  demand  for  timber  and  manufactured 
lumber  of  all  kinds  is  constantly  increasing,  and  where  vast  for- 
,  ests  of  hard  and  soft  woods  are  still  growing,  the  young  man  who 
is  casting  about  for  a  vocation  may  well  give  the  lumber  business  careful 
consideration. 

While  it  remains  for  governmental  authority  to  solve  the  problems  of 
timber  culture  and  the  preservation  of  the  wooded  domain  from  destruc¬ 
tion,  the  field  of  effort  of  the  lumber  producer  is  still  wide  and  profitable, 
operating,  as  he  does,  from  the  vast  pineries  of  the  north  to  the  cypress 
groves  of  the  extreme  south.  The  six  hundred  varieties  of  trees  which 
experts  have  found  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  the  United  States,  and 
largely  available  for  commercial  purposes,  will  afford  a  profitable  study 
to  the  novitiate.  He  may  rest  assured  that  the  demand  for  wood  will 
never  cease.  Every  house  that  is  built,  every  boat  that  sails,  and  every 
railway  train  that  is  constructed,  requires  many  varieties  of  wood,  and 
the  man  who  understands  the  business  in  all  its  branches  can  usually  find 
an  opportunity  to  put  his  knowledge  to  good  account.  No  matter  how 
dull  trade  may  be  in  certain  lines,  there  is  always  a  demand  for  this  com¬ 
modity;  and,  when  times  are  prosperous,  the  demand  often  exceeds  the 
supply. 

The  best  way  to  learn  this  business,  as  in  most  others,  is  to  begin  at 

the  bottom.  A  theoretical  knowledge  will  not  suffice.  One  must  learn 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


407 


the  different  kinds  of  wood,  where  they  grow,  how  they  are  cut  and 
dressed,  and  at  what  cost  they  reach  the  market.  This  information  is 
of  incalculable  value  to  the  lumberman,  whether  he  be  in  the  wholesale 
or  retail  trade.  General  Russell  A.  Alger  had  the  right  idea.  He  went 
out,  when  a  young  man,  into  the  woods,  with  an  ax  and  a  measuring  rod. 
With  his  wife  to  keep  house  for  him,  he  set  up  a  log  cabin  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness,  and  mastered  the  details  of  the  business,  from  the  time  the  ax 
strikes  the  tree  until  the  timber  is  ready  for  consumption.  Senator 
Sawyer  had  an  equally  expert  knowledge  of  the  business  which  made 
him  a  millionaire  and  a  figure  in  our  national  life. 

Therefore,  while  it  may  seem  old-fashioned,  it  seems  to  me  neverthe¬ 
less  true,  that  the  young  man  who  chooses  the  lumber  business  should  join 
a  lumber  camp.  There  are  thousands  of  these  in  active  operation  in  this 
country.  The  young  fellow  may  go  as  a  tallyman,  a  driver,  a  handler,  or 
a  machinist,  but  he  should  stay  until  he  knows,  from  the  experience  ob¬ 
tained  by  roughing  it,  the  methods  used  in  getting  out  logs,  the  best 
kinds  of  machiner)"  and  how  it  is  operated  most  cheaply,  and  the  readiest 
means  of  transporting  the  boards  to  market.  If  he  be  a  man  of  up-to- 
date  reading  and  intelligence,  he  can  discriminate  between  the  woods 
that  are  popular  and  those  that  have  gone  out  of  use  or  fashion.  This 
is  especially  important  in  hard  woods.  In  walnut,  a  few  years  ago,  there 
was  an  active  consumption  in  America,  whereas,  most  of  this  wood  is  now 
shipped  to  Hamburg  and  other  European  ports.  Cherry  has  passed 
through  the  transition  period,  and  there  are  constant  changes  to  be  noted 
with  regard  to  other  woods  and  their  availability. 

After  the  technical  details  are  mastered,  the  young  lumberman  will 
be  in  a  position  to  take  the  next  step,  which  is  to  familiarize  himself 
with  the  conditions  surrounding  the  sale  of  lumber  in  the  large  cities. 
A  great  deal  of  tact  and  discrimination  is  necessary  in  this  branch  of  the 
work,  for  a  large  part  of  it  is  done  on  credit.  A  dealer  who  is  not  a 
producer  will  find  the  early  training  I  have  indicated  all-essential.  His 
mercantile  instincts  will  be  sharpened  by  his  knowledge  of  grades  and 
cost  of  production,  andi  he  will  make  a  better  merchant  than  the  man 
who  takes  these  things  for  granted. 

The  manufacture  of  lumber  involves  so  much  detail  requiring  expert 
treatment,  that  no  dictum  should  be  ventured  upon  in  a  general  article 
of  this  kind.  Specialties  are  best  mastered,  however,  after  one  becomes 
familiar  with  the  cost  of  production  and  the  other  data  obtained  by 
handling  direct  from  nature.  The  names  of  these  specialties  are  legion, 
and  they  are  employing  thousands  of  skilled  workmen  and  using  up  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars’  worth  of  material  every  year.  The  trained  wood-work^.p 
Qm  n^Yer  be  displaced  in  tbe  industries  of  this  country, 


THE  SAILOR  AND  HIS  MAKING 


By  RUDOLPH  J AMBSBN 
Master  Marine  of  the  A^eufes  of  the  Mallory  Line 

Every  boy  at  some  time  or  other  intends  to  become  either  a  soldier  or 
a  sailor,  and  while  this  feeling  indicates  a  spirit  of  adventure  often 
tinged  with  true  manliness,  the  gods  deserve  praise  for  making 
such  intentions,  in  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  cases,  impossible  of  realiza¬ 
tion.  Sailors,  even  more  than  poets,  are  born,  not  made,^^  and  if  the 
trades  and  professions  were  thoroughly  investigated,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  among  those  who  follow  the  sea  as  a  matter  of  business  there 
will  be  found  the  greatest  number  of  discontented  misfits. 

A  sailor’s  life  is  a  life  of  contrasts,  and  the  boy  who  intends  following 
the  sea  as  a  means  of  livelihood  should  possess  the  spirit  of  contentment 
to  a  great  degree,  for  a  contented  mind  is  the  only  foundation  oh  which 
the  career  of  a  successful  sailor  can  be  built.  The  aspirant  must  also 
possess  a  hardy  constitution  —  eyes  that  are  faultless;  nerves  that  are 
ready  to  sustain  any  shock;  muscles  that  can  endure  the  severest  labor; 
and  a  perceptive  faculty  that  can  instantly  comprehend  a  difficult  situa¬ 
tion,  His  education  need  not  be  classical,  but  a  sound  elementary  edu¬ 
cation  similar  to  that  given  in  the  public  schools  is  absolutely  necessary. 
He  must  be  skilled  in  arithmetic  and  algebra;  a  ready  correspondent, 
and  in  conversation  a  lad  of  few  words.  Whenever  these  qualities  are 
possessed  by  a  boy  and  he  expresses  a  reasonable  desire  to  be  a  sailor, 
by  all  means  let  him  go  to  sea.  Let  all  such  sentiment  commonly  known 
as  mother’s  love  in  this  case  be  abandoned,  for  unless  this  lad  becomes 
a  sailor,  where  his  chances  are  loo  to  i  for  success,  he  will  become  a 
failure  as  a  landsman,  and  the  country  will  lose  the  services  of  a  type  of 
man  she  can  ill  afford  to  lose. 

A  boy  of  this  type  should  go  to  sea  before  he  knows  the  allure¬ 
ments  of  life  ashore  —  in  fact  the  world’s  greatest  sailors  have  all  gone 
to  sea  when  boys  —  some  of  them  mere  children.  Their  young  minds 
are  thus  modeled  to  suit  their  environment,  and  they  naturally  become 
adapted  to  their  peculiar  circumstances,  whereas,  a  land-loving  sailor  is 
a  humbug.  Parents,  especially  mothers,  will  think  this  advice  cold¬ 
blooded,  but  they  should  weigh  the  facts  and  meet  the  situation  from 
the  standpoint  of  duty,  not  from  the  spirit  of  parental  affection  which 
in  cases  of  this  kind  has  blighted  many  a  noble  life. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


409 

In  sending  a  boy  to  sea,  secure  for  him  a  berth  with  a  shipping  com¬ 
pany  of  good  repute  and  be  sure  that  the  first  five  or  six  years  of  his  ex¬ 
perience  are  spent  on  sailing  ships.  Long  voyages  make  good  sailors, 
while  trips  of  short  duration,  with  frequent  visits  ashore,  make  good  land¬ 
lubbers.  Avoid  sending  him  to  sea  in  a  steamship,  as  he  will  lack  the 
essential  work  that  develops  a  thorough  navigator.  All  successful  sail¬ 
ors  served  their  apprenticeship  in  wind  jammers  have  made  long 
voyages,  and  have  either  gone  to  sea  as  apprentice  boys  or  as  boys  be¬ 
fore  the  'mast. 

After  the  first  four  or  five  years  thus  spent,  if  he  has  been  diligent  in 
his  studies  in  seamanship  and  navigation,  he  should  be  prepared  to  sit  for 
his  first  examination  as  second  officer.  About  one  month’s  study  in  a 
school  of  navigation  ashore  is  usually  necessary  to  prepare  for  this  test. 
The  cost  is  trifling  and  should  have  been  saved  from  his  salary  while  at 
sea.  The  examination  is  stiff,  but  it  can  be  mastered  by  a  man  of  intelli¬ 
gence,  and  if  passed  successfully  will  lift  the  budding  commander  into  a 
position  of  trust.  He  will  receive  a  certificate  or  license  which  author¬ 
izes  him  to  act  as  second  officer,  but  such  candidates,  being  young  and  in¬ 
experienced  as  commanders  of  men,  usually  go  to  sea  again  in  steam 
vessels,  acting  as  third  or  fourth  officers  with  a  salary  of  about  $100  a 
month.  After  two  or  three  years  thus  spent,  they  again  present  them¬ 
selves  for  examination  to  win  the  chief  officer’s  certificate.  This  test  is 
not  as  difficult  from  the  navigator’s  point  of  view  as  the  first,  as  the  ex¬ 
amination  tests  more  the  candidate’s  executive  ability,  his  skill  as  a 
commander  and  as  a  man  of  business.  To  be  successful  means  to  earn 
a  first-class  salary,  and  to  be  elevated  to  an  enviable  degree  in  the  pro¬ 
fession.  The  salary  of  a  first  mate  varies  according  to  the  reputation 
of  the  firm  under  which  he  sails,  but  as  an  average  it  attains  the  propor¬ 
tions  of  that  of  the  well-to-do  professional  man  ashore,  with  many  per¬ 
quisites  added. 

The  next  great  step  to  be  taken  is  from  first  officer  to  captain  or  ship¬ 
master.  Usually  many  years  elapse  before  this  ideal  is  reached,  and 
rightly  so,  because  a  sea-captain  is  a  combination  of  many  personalities, 
—  navigator,  commander,  diplomat,  and  man  of  business, —  a  develop¬ 
ment  which  can  be  attained  only  through  many  years’  experience ;  and 
whatever  a  boy’s  notions  may  be  concerning  sea-captains,  it  may  be 
taken  for  granted  that  they  are  in  every  respect  ideal  men,  well  educated 
and  capable  of  meeting  any  emergency  that  may  transpire.  Their 
salaries  in  many  cases  are  large,  while  wnth  many  firms  they  receive 
anywhere  from  $300  to  $700  per  month.  They  are  often  paid  according 
to  the  tonnage  of  the  ship  they  command,  and  often  they  are  partners 
in  the  firm  under  which  they  sail.  Unlike  the  officers  under  him,  who 
have  regular  hours  for  duty,  the  captain  is  on  duty  365  days  per  year. 


^lO  BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 

% 

His  responsibility  never  ends,  and  when  the  lives  and  treasures  com¬ 
mitted  to  his  care  are  considered,  the  many  dangers  of  the  sea,  the  com¬ 
plications  that  might  ensue  in  foreign  countries,  a  sea-captain  can  correctly 
be  designated  a  ^Hive  man  — a  being  who  never  sleeps. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  add  that  a  position  as  shipmaster  can  be  attained 
by  any  boy,  however  poor,  provided  he  is  built  on  a  solid  basis.  Such 
men  are  needed,  and  if  the  future  can  safely  be  inferred  from  the  past 
and  present,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  American  shipping  will  revive 
and  again  become  a  powerful  factor  in  the  commerce  of  the  world 


HOW  TO  MANAGE  A  HOTEL  SUCCESSFULLY 


By  R.  J.  WHIPPLE 

Propi'ietor  of  the  Parker  House,  Boston 

Many  persons  believe  that  it  is  easy  to  manage  a  hotel.  They  are 
quickly  disabused  of  this  idea,  however,  by  a  brief  experience  in 
the  hotel  business.  They  soon  learn  that  their  lack  of  training  is 
a  very  great  disadvantage.  A  man  cannot  expect  to  conduct  a  hotel 
with  the  highest  success  without  years  of  experience.  He  would  better, 
if  possible,  begin  in  his  early  youth.  Service  as  a  bell-boy  or  under-clerk 
should  be  the  first  step.  On  these  lowest  riings  of  the  ladder,  the  oppor¬ 
tunities  to  learn  the  fundamental  rules  of  hotel  management  are  great¬ 
est.  By  degrees  the  young  man  who  begins  in  some  subordinate  place 
in  a  hotel  absorbs  an  accurate  and  far-reaching  knowledge  of  human 
nature  —  the  kind  of  knowledge  which  is  more  usefuil  than  any  other  to 
the  hotel  man. 

A  great  majority  of  the  men  who  fail  in  the  hotel  business  owe  their 
misfortLLne  simply  to  the  fact  that  their  understanding  of  their  fellow- 
men  and  women  is  not  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  their  occupation. 
Not  only  must  the  hotel  man  be  familiar  with  human  nature  in  its  broad 
and  general  aspects,  but  in  its  special  peculiarities.  He  must  be  able  to 
appreciate  and  cater  to  a  large  variety  of  individual  tastes  and  require¬ 
ments.  He  must  understand  and  supply  the  demands  of  numerous  spe¬ 
cial  classes  of  hotel  patrons. 

In  addition  to  the  deft,  tactful  handling  of  guests,  the  manager  must 
be  able  to  successfully  meet  another  human  element  which  presents 
more  difficulties  than  do  the  patrons.  I  mean  that  he  must  be  able  to 
control  and  get  the  best  work,  with  the  least  possible  friction  and  loss, 
out  of  the  hotel  servants  and  other  employees,  who  in'every  hotel  const!** 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


411 

tute  a  very  serious  problem  and  almost  always  are  what  might  be  called 
the  hotel  man’s  bite  7ioir. 

Only  a  Napoleon  in  hotel  management  could,  without  experience, 
solve  the  innumerable  little  problems  which  come  up  in  the  course  of  a  day. 
Few  businesses  present  so  many  details  which  seem  insignificant,  but 
which  demand  careful  attention  if  success  is  to  be  achieved.  Yet  I  am 
often  asked  by  inexperienced  young  men  to  give  them  positions  approxi¬ 
mating  in  responsibility  that  of  manager.  Some  of  these  are  new  grad¬ 
uates  from  Harvard.  They  tell  me  that  they  want  to  get  to  work  and 
earn  their  living.  They  say  that  they  are  willing  to  do  anything, 
but  when  I  offer  them  certain  positions  there  seems  to  be  a  limit  to  their 
willingness.  One  young  man  came  in  recently  and  said  he  thought  he 
would  like  to  enter  the  hotel  business.  Can  you  keep  books  ?  I  asked. 

No,  I  cannot  keep  books,  he  answered. 

Do  you  want  to  take  charge  of  the  keys  ? 

Well,-^^  he  replied,  I  think  I  am  a  little  too  old  for  that  sort  of 
work. 

You  would  not  want  to  be  a  bell-boy,  or  go  into  the  kitchen,  would 

you  ? 

Certainly  not,  he  answered  promptly. 

I  then  told  him  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  he  could  do  in  the  hotel 
business.  He  apparently  thought  that  he  should  be  given  at  once  the 
position  of  assistant  manager.  In  my  business,  as  in  every  other,  there 
is  a  great  need  of  competent  young  men  who  are  willing  to  begin  as 
hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water. 

As  I  have  already  intimated,  one  of  the  most  serious  problems  of  the 
hotel  manager  is  that  presented  by  the  staff  of  employees.  Poor  ser¬ 
vants  can  do  more  to  destroy  the  patronage  of  a  hotel  than  almost  any 
other  single  cause.  If  a  guest  finds  his  room  improperly  cared  for,  or 
if  he  is  carelessly  served  in  the  dining-room,  it  is  unlikely  that  he  will 
return  to  this  hotel.  It  is  false  economy  to  pay  low  wages  to  servants. 
The  only  sensible  plan  is  to  pay  well  and  insist  upon  good  work.  Aside 
from  the  tendency  to  indifference  and  carelessness  on  the  part  of  ser¬ 
vants,  the  manager  must  combat  their  inclination  to  quarrel  among 
themselves.  It  is  very  difficult  to  induce  a  large  corps  of  servants  to 
Work  together  in  harmony.  There  is  a*  certain  type  of  serving  woman 
who  is  never  so  happy  as  when  raising  a  disturbance.  I  have  seen  such 
a  creature,  by  idle  gossip  and  other  means,  start  up  a  contention  which 
caused  the  whole  force  to  threaten  to  leave.  One  woman,  within  the 
space  of  two  hours  after  arriving,  had  the  servants  in  an  uproar ;  half  the 
entire  force  of  scrub-women  were  giving  notice  of  departure.  One 
must  be  an  expert  reader  of  character  to  avoid  getting  such  disturbers 
into  his  house.  It  takes  time  to  obtain  a  force  of  employees  which  in 


412 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


any  way  approximates  the  standard  of  efficiency  desired  by  the  good 
manager.  A  thoroughly  competent  servant  is  a  treasure,  indeed.  When 
I  find  one,  I  use  all  reasonable  means  to  keep  him  or  her  in  my  employ. 
Constant  changes  in  the  force  are  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
hotel.  Guests  who  have  been  pleased  like  to  find  on  their  return  the 
same  clerks  and  servants.  They  thus  begin  to  feel  at  home  in  a  house 
and  are  likely  to  become  regular  patrons. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  employee  is  the  room  clerk,  or  the  man 
behind  the  desk.  The  great  success  of  any  large  hotel  is  chiefly  due  to 
the  skilful  way  in  which  prospective  guests  are  met  at  the  desk  and  pro¬ 
vided  with  accommodations.  The  room-clerk  must  be  a  man  of  tact, 
geniality,  and  unerring  courtesy  and  patience.  He  should,  in  addition, 
be  a  sort  of  human  encyclopedia,  directory,  steamship  and  postal  guide ; 
in  short,  a  fountain  of  universal  knowledge  and  information.  He  is  ex¬ 
pected  to  remember  every  one  who  has  ever  been  a  guest  at  the  hotel; 
to  assign  each  guest  to  the  best  room ;  to  laugh  at  every  joke  related  to 
him,  and  to  lend  a  sympathetic  ear  to  every  traveler’s  tale  of  woe. 

After  the  room  clerk,  in  order  of  responsibility,  comes  the  steward. 
One  of  the  best  hotel  men  iii  America  has  said:  ^^The  rest  of  the  house 
will  run  itself  if  the  kitchen  is  well  conducted.  The  effect  of  a  fine 
hotel  building,  attractive  rooms,  and  courteous  attention,  is  nullified  if 
the  culinary  department  is  below  the  standard.  Besides  the  danger  of 
inferior  work  in  the  kitchen,  the  manager  must  provide  against  the  leak- 
.ages  that  may  occur  there.  Help  in  the  kitchen  have  many  oppor¬ 
tunities  to  commit  small  thefts,  which  in  the  aggregate  may  drain 
a  house  of  its  profits.  Teas,  coffees,  small  groceries,  can  be  very  easily 
carried  away  in  the  pockets  and  in  small  packages.  Carvers,  moreover, 
can  save  or  waste  a  smali  fortune  in  a  year.  One  man  can  serve  several 
more  good  orders  from  a  turkey  than  can  another  and  satisfy  the  guests 
just  as  well.  . ' 

The  chef  is,  of  course,  always  a  personage  in  a  large  hotel.  Many  a 
house  has  been  made  or  ruined  by  the  head  cook.  His  economy  or 
wastefulness;  his  skill  in  preparing  appetizing  dishes;  his  ability  to 
manage  his  assistants;  his  method,  or  lack  of  it;  his  habits  of  promptness, 
or  the  reverse,  have  a  very  material  effect,  good  or  bad,  upon  a  hotel’s 
reputation.  The  manager  must  treat  the  chef  with  consideration,  for 
if  he  is  a  good  one,  he  is  what  is  called,  in  the  phraseology  of  slang, 
a  rare  bird.^^  Few  cooks  can  even  roast  a  piece  of  beef  in  the  best 
manner.  Two  pieces  of  meat,  like  in  quality,  may  be  so  differently 
cooked  as  to  have  no  resemblance  when  served.  One  may  have  all  the 
juices  preserved  and  be  most  appetizing;  the  other  may  be  dried  up, 
tough,  and  unpalatable.  The  difference  lies  in  the  skill  of  the  cook. 
This  is  likewise  true  of  steaks.  Good  meat  cooks  command  high  wages 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


in  first-class  hotels.  But  the  supreme  test  of  a  chef  is  his  soup.  It  is 
by  this  that  he  is  chiefly  judged  when  employed. 

The  head-waiter  is  another  employee  who  occupies  a  very  responsible 
position.  He  must  answer  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  guests 
during  meals.  He  directs  the  waiters  and  is  responsible  for  their  appear¬ 
ance,  habits,  and  manners.  He  drills  them  constantly  in  the  smaller  de¬ 
tails  of  proper  service.  The  waiter  must  know  exactly  how  to  draw  a 
chair  and  seat  a  guest.  He  must  never  serve  two  courses  together,  nor 
serve  with  one  course  dishes  which  should  go  with  another.  He  should 
never  pass  anything  to  a  guest  so  as  to  force  the  latter  to  take  it  from 
his  right  side;  he  should  never  turn  the-  handle  of  a  cup  away 
from  the  guest;  he  should  remember  to  have  the  salt  and  pepper, 
vinegar  and  relishes,  within  easy  reach  of  the  guest;  he  should  never 
compel  the  latter  to  ask  for  a  napkin,  for  water,  or  any  of  the  accessories 
to  the  dish  he  is  serving.  He  should  not,  of  course,  carry  on  a  conver¬ 
sation  with  a  guest  unless  encouraged.  A  good  waiter  is  prompt  and 
attentive,  and  yet  not  obtrusive  in  his  service.  He  moves  about  swiftly 
and  noiselessly  and  effaces  himself  as  much  as  possible. 

Few  employees  are  more  essential  to  the  comfort  of  the  guest  than 
the  housekeeper.  It  is  very  important  to  the  management  that  the  linen 
be  always  clean,  the  beds  properly  made,  the  rooms  kept  well  swept  and 
dusted.  It  is  the  housekeeper’s  duty  to  see  that  the  chambermaids  are 
efficient  and  accommodating,  and  also  honest.  It  is  easy  for  a  chamber¬ 
maid  to  steal  linen  or  to  condone  such  thefts.  There  are  careless  chamber¬ 
maids  who  do  not  keep  account  of  the  linen  furnished  to  each  room,  with 
the  result  that  there  are  frequent  losses  of  sheets  and  spreads  and  towels. 
This  means  a  very  considerable  expense.  When  the  chambermaid  gives 
immediate  notice  of  the  loss,  the  thief  can  usually  be  caught,  but  after 
a  week  or  two,  this  is  nearly  always  impossible.  Waiters  sometimes  allow 
silver  to  be  carried  off.  The  only  way  a  manager  can  keep  his  stock 
complete  is  to  count  each  piece  when  it  is  locked  up  in  the  safe  at  night. 
I  suppose  there  will  always  be  hotel  thieves;  some  of  them  are  so  expert 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  detect  them.  Even  hotels  having  well- 
organized  detective  forces  frequently  lose  articles.  The  only  course  is 
to  charge  them  up  to  the  profit  and  loss  account;  but  a  manager  himself 
is  to  blame  for  losses  and  for  dishonest  servants,  since  it  is  his  duty  to 
watch  the  latter  and  to  see  that  they  account  for  everything. 

The  manager  of  a  hotel  is  subjected  to  needless  loss  if  his  claim  and 
damage  department  is  not  well  organized.  He  may  figure  on  about 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  his  profits  being  demanded  by  the  man  who 
leaves  his  valuable  diamond  stud  in  the  wash-room ;  by  the  woman  who 
leaves  her  satehel  in  the  waiting-room ;  or  by  the  individual  who  in¬ 
duces  him  to  cash  a  check  on  a  bank  two  thousand  miles  away.  He 


I 


414 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


must  constantly  guard  himself  against  being  cheated,  but  even  if  he 
exercises  the  utmost  care  he  is  bound  to  be  swindled  occasionally. 

I  am  a  thorough  believer  in  spending  money  in  a  hotel  for  future 
profits.  There  are  managers  of  successful  houses  who  may  hesitate,  for 
example,  to  pay  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  an  ice-machine,  but  the  latter 
is  sure  to  prove  a  good  investment  in  any  hotel  of  reasonable  size.  Some 
men  refuse  to  look  ahead.  I  know  managers  who  have  the  laundry 
work  done  outside  because  of  lack  of  facilities  for  having  it  done  in  the 
house.  It  costs  comparatively  little  to  install  a  steam  laundry  plant,  yet 
money  is  saved  thereby  and  the  hotel  is  benefited  in  several  ways. 

Many  managers  pay  too  little  attention  to  the  furnishing  of  their 
houses,  despite  the  fact  that  it  is  very  important  to  have  the  rooms  com¬ 
fortably  and  attractively  furnished.  Uncomfortable  beds  and  bare  and 
cheerless  apartments  are  very  detrimental  to  a  hotel’s  success.  Tasteful 
furnishings  give  a  house  character  and  distinction,  even  though  they  are 
not  costly.  The  beds,  particularly,  should  be  good,  and  every  room 
should  contain  at  least  one  easy  chair,  and  be  well  heated  in  winter  and 
kept  cool  in  summer.  There  should  be  attractive  pictures  on  the  walls; 
running  water,  both  hot  and  cold,  in  all  the  rooms  is  a  valuable  adjunct 
to  every  hotel,  and  when  good  soap,  and  clean,  soft  towels,  are  supplied, 
any  reasonable  guest  will  be  satisfied.  These  may  seem  like  insig¬ 
nificant  details,  but  nothing  that  will  add  to  the  well-being  of  a  guest  is 
beneath  the  manager’s  attention. 

A  wide  divergence  of  opinion  exists  among  managers  as  to  the  ad¬ 
visability  of  advertising  his  hotel.  If  it  is  a  large,  well-conducted  house, 
I  believe  in  making  it  as  well  known  as  possible  through  certain  chan¬ 
nels.  The  best  advertising  is  that  done  by  guests  who  depart  satisfied; 
they  not  only  return  but  probably  will  recommend  the  house  to  friends. 
It  is  never  necessary  to  advertise  for  the  patronage  of  commercial 
travelers,  or  other  business  men  who  travel  a  great  deal.  They  soon 
discover  whether  or  not  a  hotel  is  well  managed,  and  when  pleased  are 
likely  to  be  loyal  in  their  patronage. 

Most  hotel  keepers  are  obliged  to  make  their  profits  during  a  certain 
season  of  the  year;  there  are  several  months  in  which  guests  are  com¬ 
paratively  scarce,  yet  it  is  not  possible  to  cut  down  expenses  to  any  ex¬ 
tent;  nearly  as  many  servants  are  required  for  one  hundred  as  for  two 
hundred  persons,  and  a  manager  cannot  run  any  risk  of  being  without 
servants  when  the  busy  season  commences.  So  he  must  be  content  if 
he  merely  pays  expenses  during  the  dull  season,  and  must  depend  upon 
the  winter,  or  summer,  as  the  case  may  be,  for  the  realization  of  profits. 

Every  hotel  should  have  rules  for  the  conduct  of  its  guests,  and 
the  manager  should  insist  that  they  be  observed.  A  house  in  which 
people  do  as  they  please  is  doomed  to  failure.  It  is  always  better  to 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


4t5 

send  away  an  objectionable  person  than  to  lose  a  dozen  or  more  who  are 
likely  to  go  if  the  other  remains.  Guests  do  not  object  to  reasonable 
rules,  for  they  recognize  that  these  rules  are  made  as  much  for  their  pro¬ 
tection  as  for  that  of  the  manager. 

Trifles  are  the  rocks  upon  which  a  great  many  hotel  men  are  wrecked. 
The  comfort  and  convenience  of  guests  are  so  dependent  upon  little 
things,  small  attentions,  delicate  courtesies,  prompt  and  accurate  ser¬ 
vice,  that  few  managers  possess  the  grasp  of  detail  necessary  to  keep  up 
the  standard  in  all  particulars.  There  is  so  much  competition  in  large 
city  hotels  of  high  grade  that  the  successful  hotel  man  must  be  ever  on 
the  alert,  never  relaxing  his  vigilance,  always  watching  for  the  little 
leaks  which  threaten  to  sink  his  ship. 

In  opening  a  new  hotel,  it  is  necessary  to  be  very  careful  about  the 
location.  If  it  is  to  be  a  business  man’s  house,  it  should  be  in  the  busi¬ 
ness  district;  if  it  is  intended  to  appeal  to  ladies,  it  should  be  located  not 
far  from  the  shopping  neighborhood  and  the  places  of  amusement. 
Patrons  sometimes  go  out  of  their  way  to  stay  at  a  hotel  that  has  been 
long  established  and  that  enjoys  a  high  reputation,  but  a  new  house  will 
not  thrive  unless  centrally  located.  A  great  deal  of  money  is  required 
to  put  a  hotel  upon  a  paying  basis.  I  never  heard  of  a  great  hotel  that 
has  earned  money  from  the  very  beginning;  the  promoters  usually  spend 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  before  any  profits  are  realized ;  3’’et  a 
well-established  hotel,  economically  conducted,  is  a  valuable  property. 
There  are  hundreds  of  men,  most  of  whom  started  as  bell-boys  or 
clerks,  who  have  become  wealthy  in  the  business. 


THE  CONTRACTOR  AND  BUILDER 


There  are  several  avenues  to  the  control  of  a  business  of  contracting 
and  building.  Many  of  our  most  successful  contractors  began  as 
laborers  in  some  one  of  the  building  trades.  Others  started  in  of¬ 
fices  of  contracting  and  building  firms  as  office  boys^  and  clerks,  and  there 
acquired  their  first  knowledge  of  the  business  features  of  contracting 
and  building,  and  then,  by  inspecting  work  under  way,  and  by  reading, 
became  familiar  with  the  mechanical  parts  of  the  calling.  Other  con¬ 
tractors  are  graduates  of  technical  schools  and  have  had  little  or  no  ex¬ 
perience  in  the  business  or  trade  details  of  the  work.  In  most  cases,  the 


4i6 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


technical  school  graduates  have  fathers  or  relatives  in  well-established 
businesses  of  contracting  and  building,  and  are  thus  able  to  step  into  posi¬ 
tions  of  responsibility  without  undergoing  the  years  of  drudgery  neces¬ 
sary  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  compelled,  unaided,  to  forge  their 
way  to  the  front. 

The  business  of  contraeting  is  divided  into  numerous  specialties ;  for 
instance,  there  is  the  eontracting  mason,  the  contracting  carpenter, 
plumber,  decorator,  electrician,  and  so  on.  In  addition  to  these  con¬ 
tractors,  there  is  a  large  elass  of  builders  who  contract  for  the  entire 
structure,  and  sublet  eontracts  to  speeialists.  The  builder  must,  of 
course,  be  a  man  of  capital  and  commercial  responsibility.  He  has  gen¬ 
erally  reached  his  position  as  the  result  of  careful  work  and  steady  prog¬ 
ress  in  the  meehanical  field,  usually  extending  over  a  period  of  many 
years.  In  the  city,  most  of  the  builders  have  graduated  from  the  trade 
of  masonry,  this  being  the  most  important  special  branch  in  the  building 
of  city  houses.  In  the  country,  on  the  other  hand,  the  builder  in  most 
cases  was  formerly  a  carpenter,  the  reason  being  that  the  woodwork  in 
country  buildings  is  the  most  essential  feature  of  the  work. 

The  business  of  building  and  contracting  does  not  require  for  success 
any  more  than  a  common  school  education ;  in  fact,  some  of  the  contract¬ 
ors  who  have  established  large  businesses  are  very  illiterate  men,  without 
sufficient  scholastic  knowledge  to  write  a  letter,  yet  they  have  strong  com¬ 
mon  sense,  good  business  ability,  and  a  close  familiarity  with  the  build¬ 
ing  trades.  They  have  had  no  diffieulty  in  hiring  young  men  and  women, 
at  comparatively  small  salaries,  to  supply  their  laek  of  educational  pro¬ 
ficiency.  But  learning  is,  of  course,  an  advantage  in  any  sphere  of  life, 
and  the  young  man  who  is  able  to  attend  a  trade-school  acquires  as  mueh 
knowledge  of  the  building  trades  in  a  year  as  the  young  meehanic  can  ac¬ 
quire  in  three  years  of  practieal  work.  The  horizon  of  the  former  is 
broader  than  that  of  the  latter,  and  on  this  account  he  is  apt  to  be  better 
able  to  build  up  and  supervise  a  large  building  and  contracting  business. 

The  methods  and  eustoms  in  contraet  building  have  ehanged  consid¬ 
erably  in  the  last  twenty- five,  or  even  fifteen  years.  Competition  is 
keener  than  formerly,  and  a  eontractor  must  have  a  larger  capital.  He 
must  take  contracts  at  lower  sums  of  money  and  must  therefore  figure 
much  closer  upon  the  cost  to  himself.  In  the  old  days,  when  asked  to 
give  an  estimate  on  a  building,  a  contractor  would  say  to  himself:  ®This 
building  is  a  good  deal  like  the  one  I  did  last  year  for  so  and  .so,  and  I 
guess  I  can  do  this  job  for  about  the  same  priee.^^  This  loose  and  slip¬ 
shod  guessing  would  soon  put  the  builder  and  contractor  of  to-day  upon 
the  rocks.  In  making  an  estimate  at  the  present  time,  he  must  know 
exactly  how  much  lumber  and  how  much  stone  and  how  much  of  other 
materials  will  be  required  for  the  building.  He  must  be  able  to  estimate 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


417 


the  exact  cost  of  labor  and  of  all  of  the  great  number  and  variety  of  acces¬ 
sories.  An  estimate  is  no  longer  a  guess,  it  is  a  very  careful  mathe¬ 
matical  computation.  From  this  fact  it  will  be  seen  that  the  contractor 
and  builder  must  have  a  very  accurate  knowledge  of  material,  labor,  and 
.the  numerous  other  factors  in  the  erection  of  a  house.  ,  This  knowledge 
can  be  acquired  only  by  actual  experience.  Neither  schools  nor  books 
will  give  it.  A  young  man,  therefore,  cannot  expect  to  begin  as  a  con¬ 
tractor  and  builder.  His  best  plan  is  to  seek  employment  in  the  office 
of  a  well-established  firm.  Here,  if  he  is  bright  and  ambitious,  he  will 
be  able  to  gain  a  great  deal  of  information  about  the  business  of  contract¬ 
ing  and  building.  He  will  become  a  business  man.  Meanwhile,  by 
reading,  inspecting  work  and  perhaps  attending  a  trade-school,  or  by 
taking  lessons  through  the  medium  of  one  of  the  corresponding  schools,  he 
will  be  able  to  combine  with  his  business  training  the  theoretical  and 
practical  knowledge  of  the  building  trades  which  is  necessary  for  the 
equipment  of  the  wholly  competent  contractor  and  builder. 

It  usually  takes  a  long  time  for  a  man  to  get  on  his  feet  as  a  con¬ 
tractor  and  builder,  but  once  he  has  established  himself,  he  has  a  business 
that  can  be  depended  upon  to  yield  him  a  good  profit.  There  are  fewer 
uncertainties  and  contingencies  in  building  and  contracting  than  in  many 
other  callings.  The  builder  usually  deals  with  men  of  means,  and  when 
work  is  finished  he  is  more  likely  to  receive  his  pay  than  is  the  case  in 
other  businesses ;  he  is  therefore  able  to  steer  clear  of  the  rock  which 
wrecks  so  many  commercial  enterprises,  namely,  an  accumulation  of  bad 
debts. 

Building  and  contracting  contains  but  little  of  the  speculative  ele¬ 
ment.  Of  course,  there  is  always  the  possibility  of  a  strike  that  will 
render  the  builder  unable  to  complete  his  work  in  the  specified  time.  Much 
money  has  been  lost  in  the  past  from  this  cause,  but  the  builder  of  the 
present  day  almost  always  takes  care  that  there  is  in  his  contract  what  is 
called  a  strike  clause,  releasing  him  from  the  time  stipulation  in  case  his 
employees  are  ordered  out  on  strike. 

On  the  whole,  the  business  is  a  very  good  one.  It  is  not  so  exalted  as 
that  of  the  architect,  but,  as  a  rule,  it  pays  better.  A  young  man  of  prac¬ 
tical  ability  who  makes  up  his  mind  to  become  a  contractor  and  builder 
ought  to  be  able  to  accomplish  his  purpose,  and  if  he  does  he  will  have 

achieved  independence,  and,  perhaps,  will  have  acquired  a  fortune. 

13—27 


4i8 


THE  CITY  CARPENTER  AND  THE  COUNTRY 

CARPENTER 


CARPENTRY  of  to-day  might  properly  be  classified  as  city,  and  coun¬ 
try,  carpentry.  The  tendency  of  the  country  carpenter  is  to  grow 
broad  in  theories,  while  the  city  carpenter  becomes  a  specialist, 
skilled  in  the  use  of  fine  tools  and  machines. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  when  the  construction  of  buildings  was  largely 
by  hand,  the  framework  was  wood,  and  the  girders  and  braces  were 
measured,  fitted,  and  placed,  by  hand.  To-day,  almost  all  of  the  pieces 
are  manufactured  in  the  mills;  the  only  work  that  remains  for  the  car¬ 
penter  is  to  put  the  pieces  together.  Even  this  class  of  work  has  been 
superseded  by  structural  iron.  The  real  brain  work  and  skill  formerly 
demanded  of  the  carpenter  is  supplied  by  the  mill  hands. 

The  revolution  that  the  building  trade  has  undergone,  owing  to  the 
introduction  of  steel,  has  forced  the  carpenter  into  much  narrower  chan¬ 
nels  of  work.  Though  such  parts  of  a  building  as  window  sills  and  door 
casings  are  made  in  the  factory,  it  is  considered  economy  to  employ  the 
best  workmen  to  place  them  in  buildings.  Of  course,  the  men  who  de¬ 
vote  themselves  to  this  kind  of  work,  may  have  a  general  knowledge  of 
carpentry,  and  may  get,  at  the  outset,  higher  wages  than  those  engaged 
upon  general  work,  but  such  work  naturally  precludes  their  branching 
out  into  broader  fields. 

The  tendency  of  the  country  carpenter  is  to  become  a  contractor,  and 
an  architect  as  well.  He  no  longer  confines  himself  to  the  building  of 
houses  on  plans  made  by  others.  The  sign,  John  Smith,  Architect,  or 
^^John  Smith,  Contractor  &  Builder  ^Ms  now  seen  where  simply  John 
Smith,  Carpenter  used  to  hang.  He  is  familiar  with  all  kinds  of  work, 
but  never  becomes  so  skilful  with  tools  as  his  city  brother  in  trade.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  may  make  more  money,  because  of  his  many  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  going  into  business  for  himself,  since  a  start  in  the  coun¬ 
try  does  not  involve  much  capital,  either  in  the  fitting  up  of  a  shop  or 
the  obtaining  of  the  material  for  a  large  contract.  The  fine  artisan  in 
the  city  is  apt  to  become  more  or  less  a  machine,  while  the  rural  work¬ 
man  learns  something  of  estimating  upon  a  job.  It  is  a  matter  of  fact 
that,  while  a  gfeat  majority  of  the  skilled  workmen  employed  in  the  new 
buildings  of  the  great  cities  are  city  born  and  bred,  a  still  greater  major¬ 
ity  of  the  bosses  and  contractors  of  such  buildings  have  learned  the  first 
part  of  their  trade  in  the  country. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


419 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  carpentry  does  not  oiler  the  induce¬ 
ments  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  but  the  fact  that  the  trade  schools 
are  turning  out  many  carpenters  would  seem  to  be  a  refutation  of  that 
theory.  A  disadvantage  of  the  carpentry  trade  is  that  it  cannot  ordinarily 
be  followed  the  year  around.  During  the  winter,  little  work  is  done  on 
the  buildings  in  the  cities  of  the  North;  hence  many  thousands  of  good 
workmen  are  idle  for  a  part  of  each  year.  This  condition  drives  many 
from  this  trade  into  callings  that  afford  a  more  certain  and  regular,  if 
not  a  greater,  stipend.  This  may  be  assigned  as  the  reason  why  the 
ranks  of  this  trade  are  not  overcrowded,  despite  the  large  supply  of  new 
recruits  furnished  by  the  trade  schools. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  carpenter  to-day  is  a  better  educated  man 
than  formerly.  This  is  due  chiefly  to  the  trade  schools,  to  the  higher 
class  of  work  now  demanded,  and  to  the  general  advancement  of  the 
status  of  the  trade. 

The  boy  who  contemplates  becomiing  a  carpenter  should  have  more  or 
less  of  a  mechanical  ^^bent.^^  He  should  first  obtain  just  as  good  a 
school  education  as  possible,  and  should  especially  apply  himself  to 
mathematics.  A  knowledge  of  geometry  is  essential,  especially  in  stair¬ 
building,  and  if  possessed  of  such  knowledge  he  can  easily  outstrip  com¬ 
petitors  who  are  not  so  well  equipped.  After  the  lad  has  graduated  from 
his  village  or  grammar  school  he  should,  if  possible,  enter  a  trade  school, 
where  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  use  of  tools  may  be  acquired.  In 
such  schools  the  theory  as  well  as  the  practice  of  carpentry  is  taught. 
Without  such  drilling,  the  young  aspirant  is  severely  handicapped.  In 
trade  schools  are  also  taught  the  principles  of  architecture,  which  are 
invaluable  to  the  builder.  The  course  in  the  trade  school  is  of  about  a 
year’s  duration.  When  graduated  from  the  school,  the  young  man  en¬ 
ters  upon  a  course  of  regular  work  in  the  employ  of  a  contracting  or  boss 
carpenter,  and  soon,  if  he  be  diligent  and  ambitious,  becomes  a  full- 
fledged  journeyman  carpenter,  and  later,  perhaps,  a  contractor  and 
builder. 


420 


THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  BLACKSMITH’S  TRADE 


A  blacksmith  wa^  formerly  a  smith  who  worked  in  black  metal  or  iron,  as  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  the  whitesmith,  who  worked  in  white  metal  or  tin. —  Standard 
Dictionary. 

HE  foregoing  definition  really  casts  little  light  upon  the  vocation  of 


the  blacksmith  —  the  oldest,  probably,  of  the  constructive  arts, — 


for  the  legend  comes  down  to  us  from  biblical  times  that  at  the 
completion  of  the  temple.  King  Solomon  gave  a  great  feast  to  all  who 
had  been  engaged  in  its  erection,  and  as  the  story  goes,  disclosed  to  the 
artificers  there  assembled  that  they  were  all  indebted  to  the  blacksmith  for 
^he  means  to  accomplish  their  several  parts  of  the  wonderful  work.  The 
smith  it  was  who  made  the  tools  for  the  different  craftsmen,  and  without 
him,  it  appears  from  the  legend,  they  would  have  been  nearly  helpless. 

Though  ever  an  humble  occupation,  that  of  the  blacksmith  has  yet 
been  held  in  high  esteem  through  all  time,  and  the  smith  himself  to-day, 
as  in  years  gone  by,  is  often  a  man  of  importance  in  his  community.  In 
rural  districts,  where  he  is  seen  at  his  best,  he  is  often  the  recipient  of 
such  honors  as  the  community  is  able  to  bestow,  frequently  being  the 
justice  of  the  peace.  To  the  smith,  more  often  than  to  any  one  else, 
are  questions  of  moment  referred,  for  he  is  considered  to  be,  and  usually 
is,  a  careful  observer  and  a  public-spirited  citizen. 

Of  the  qualities  needed  to  make  a  successful  blacksmith  it  is  not  easy 
to  name  the  most  essential.  Shrewdness,  carefulness,  a  general  knowl¬ 
edge  of  mechanics,  and  an  unlimited  fund  of  patience,  are  prime  requi¬ 
sites.  While  it  is  true  that  the  country  smith  of  to-day  is  not  so  very  far 
removed  from  his  brother  of  years  ago,  it  is  equally  true  that  by  reason 
of  improved  tools  —  many  of  them  his  own  invention  —  he  is  enabled  to 
accomplish  much  more  in  a  given  time,  since  all  the  improvements  in 
tools  and  methods  have  had  for  their  object  the  saving  of  labor.  Where, 
for  instance,  fifty  years  ago  a  smith  required  hours  to  set  the  tires  on  a 
vehicle,  he  may  to-day,  by  the  use  of  the  improved  methods  at  his  com¬ 
mand,  accomplish  the  same  work  in  an  almost  incredibly  short  space  of 
time.  And  in  other  particulars  the  gain  has  been  equally  great. 

In  some  directions  blacksmiths’  work  has  within  the  last  few  years 
become  specialized,  as  in  the  great  shops  of  the  more  prominent  com¬ 
mercial  centers,  where  a  smith,  instead  of  having  all  sorts  of  smith  work 
to  do,  has  only  a  certain  kind  upon  which  he  may  be  engaged  from  one 
year’s  end  to  the  other.  Two  lines  which  may  be  mentioned  are  ma¬ 
chine-smithing  in  the  large  machinery  works,  and  tool-dressing  in  the 
mining  or  quarrying  districts 


421 


THE  PLUMBING  TRADE 

By  J.  MADISON  HEATHERTON 
Editor  of  the  Plumbers'  Trade  JournaP^ 

IN  THE  United  States  at  the  present  time  it  is  estimated  that  fourteen 
thousand  men  are  conducting  the  plumbing  business.  There  are  in 
the  neighborhood  of  one  hundred  thousand  journeymen  plumbers 
and  perhaps  twenty-five  thousand  apprentices. 

The  present  condition  of  the  plumbing  trade  is  not  as  desirable  as 
most  people  seem  to  imagine.  Apprentices  have  been  turned  out  far  too 
rapidly  during  the  last  fifteen  to  twenty  years.  This  has  become  so 
thoroughly  well  known  to  the  trade  that  measures  have  been  agitated  to 
counteract  the  evil,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  remedy.  It  is  a  difficult 
matter  to  keep  any  one  from  learning  a  trade,  yet  there  should  be  some 
plan  devised  to  limit  the  number  of  apprentices  in  our  trade. 

A  far  better  educated  and  well-informed  grade  of  men  than  those 
who  formerly  conducted  the  business  are  now  engaged  in  it.  This  is 
owing  principally  to  organizations,  trade  papers,  and  trade-schools.  Re¬ 
ferring  to  organizations,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  master-plumbers  stand  to-day 
as  the  greatest  organized  body  of  master-mechanics  in  the  world,  nearly 
'  ten  thousand  being  members  of  a  national  association. 

Not  many  years  ago,  before  the  present  high-grade  patented  sanitary 
specialities  were  on  the  market,  the  plumber  was  forced  to  make  all  his 
own  fixtures,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  articles.  To-day  this  is 
changed.  Solder  is  furnished,  the  plumbing  fixtures  are  obtained  for 
installation,  and  the  plumbers’  skill  consists  only  in  outlining  the  work, 
following  the  specifications,  and  setting  up  the  various  fixtures.  It  has 
been  a  prevalent  idea  in  the  public  mind  that  the  plumber  has  almost 
invariably  overcharged  for  his  work.  This  is  absolutely  untrue.  We 
may  take  the  plumbers  as  a  class  to-day  and  assert  that  their  system  of 
billing  is  generally  on  a  carefully  estimated  percentage  of  profit  over 
and  above  the  cost  price  of  the  various  goods  which  they  use.  Then  so 
much  per  day  is  charged  for  the  journeyman  and  the  helper. 

There  are  two  classes  of  master-plumbers:  the  jobbing  master-plumber 
and  the  contracting  master-plumber.  The  jobbing  master-plumber  at¬ 
tends  to  nothing  but  overhauling  old  work  and  such  repairing  as  he  may 
be  able  to  obtain.  A  great  many  of  the  jobbing  master-plumbers  handle 
estate  work,  and  perhaps  are  paid  so  much  a  year  by  the  various  estates 
that  they  care  for,  or  so  much  a  day  for  the  time  of  their  journeymen. 


422 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


The  contracting  master-plumber  bids  on  all  sorts  of  new  work.  Many 
master-plumbers  start  in  to  compete  with  older  contracting  plumbers, 
just  after  graduating  from  the  position  of  journeyman  to  that  of  boss. 
These  young  master-plumbers  are  good  mechanics,  but  poor  business 
men.  In  their  efforts  to  secure  work,  they  figure  at  almost  the  cost  price 
of  the  material  which  they  are  to  furnish.  They  lose  sight  of  their  own 
time,  their  store  rent,  and  various  other  sundries,  and  consequently, 
when  the  work  is  finished,  their  books  show  a  loss  instead  of  a  profit. 
Then,  again,  they  are  subject  to  losses  through  builders  failing  to  pay 
at  proper  times,  estates  failing,  etc.  Through  the  constant  coming  into 
the  work  of  the  trade  by  inexperienced  master-plumbers,  the  conditions 
are  bad,  and  the  outlook  not  at  all  bright.  For  a  young  man,  the  trade 
of  plumbing  should  possess  no  attractions  until  the  conditions  we  have 
spoken  of  are  changed.  As  I  stated  at  the  start,  the  fault  lies  with  the 
fact  that  there  are  too  many  apprentices,  who  have  become  journeymen 
plumbers  and  eventually  master-plumbers,  thus  bringing  about  a  tre¬ 
mendous  competition. 

The  young  man  who  wishes  to  become  a  plumber  should,  first  of  all, 
possess  a  good  school  education,  especially  a  knowledge  of  bookkeep¬ 
ing.  He  should  then  be  apprenticed  to  some  good  plumbing  establish¬ 
ment  for  a  period  of  three  to  five  years,  and  should  work  at  the  trade  all 
of  this  time.  He  should,  in  addition,  study  the  theoretical  portion  of 
the  trade,  gleaning  what  facts  he  can  from  such  literature  as  can  be 
secured.  A  certain  number  of  years  as  journeyman  plumber,  will  fit 
him  to  become  a  master-plumber.  A  course  at  a  trade-school  will  do  an 
apprentice  good,  for  here  he  is  bound  to  secure  much  theoretical  informa¬ 
tion,  and  a  grasp  of  the  principles  of  the  finer  workmanship  of  the  trade. 

To  begin*as  a  master-plumber,  the  amount  of  capital  required  varies 
in  accordance  with  the  section  of  the  country  in  which  one  desires  to 
engage  in  business.  In  country  towns,  most  plumbing  establishments 
carry  quite  a  stock  of  goods  necessary  for  their  plumbing  work,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  house  furnishing  goods.  The  necessity  for  their  carrying  stock 
lies  in  the  fact  that  they  may  be  some  miles  from  supply  houses.  It  can 
thus  be  seen  that  the  capital  of  a  country  master-plumber  should  be 
greater  than  that  needed  by  a  journeyman  who  contemplates  starting  in 
business  in  a  large  city,  where  he  is  in  close  touch  with  supply  houses, 
and  simply  needs  a  basis  of  operation  from  which  to  order  his  goods. 
But  I  believe  that  no  journeyman  should  start  in  business  without  a  bank 
account  of  from  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand  dollars. 


423 


1 


HOW  TO  SUCCEED  AS  A  TAILOR 

By  JAMES  J.  KENNEDT 

The  young  man  who  would  succeed  as  a  tailor,  must,  as  in  anything 
else,  possess  ability,  energy,  and  ambition.  If  he  begins  as  a 
journeyman  workman,  he  must  set  himself  the  task  of  becoming 
the  best  workman  in  the  shop,  for  that  is  the  surest  way  of  gaining  pro¬ 
motion.  When  he  is  promoted  and  put  in  charge  of  other  men,  he  must 
acquire  tact  and  adaptability,  and  learn  how  to  get  the  best  work  out  of 
men  with  the  least  possible  friction.  While  keeping  clearly  in  view  his 
purpose  of  some  day  becoming  his  own  master,  he  should  give  the  man 
in  whose  employ  he  is,  the  best  service  of  which  he  is  capable.  This 
training,  will  later  mean  dollars  in  his  own  pocket.  That  man  will 
never  succeed  who  is  always  fearful  of  doing  more  work  than  he  is  paid 
for. 

The  tailor  starting  business  for  himself  will  inevitably  discover  that 
to  attain  success  requires  more  than  the  ability  to  make  well-fitting  gar¬ 
ments.  Equally  important  is  the  knowledge  of  human  nature,  which 
enables  him  to  divine  what  particular  material  and  style  will  give  each 
customer  most  satisfaction.  Tastes  differ,  and  he  must  learn  how  to 
make  allowance  for  these  differences.  With  clothing,  many  men  have 
much  clearer  ideas  as  to  what  they  don’t  like  than  as  to  what  they  do 
like,  and  the  successful  tailor  must  know  how  to  infer  the  latter  from 
the  former.  I  study  a  customer’s  physiognomy  more  closely  than  I  do 
his  anatomy.  To  fit  him  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter.  To  fit  him 
and  at  the  same  time  satisfy  him  is  much  more  difficult.  You  may  know 
very  well  what  will  look  best  on  him,  but  you  must  exercise  great  tact 
in  urging  your  own  views,  otherwise  a  customer  may  be  lost  instead  of 
gained.  The  tailor  comes  frequently  into  contact  with  human  vanity, 
which  is  a  very  uncertain  quantity,  and,  like  dynamite,  must  be  handled 
carefully. 

If  he  aims  at  becoming  a  fashionable  tailor,  his  workmanship  through¬ 
out  must  be  of  superlative  excellence.  Men  of  wealth  and  fashion  are 
generous  but  exacting  patrons.  They  pay  for  the  best,  and  expect  to 
get  it.  Of  course,  the  tailor  who  seeks  to  enter  this  field  finds  it  in  pos¬ 
session  of  men  whose  reputation  is  already  made.  He  can  gain  recogni¬ 
tion  only  by  doing  as  good,  or  better,  work  than  theirs,  even  before  he 
has  acquired  the  prestige  which  will  enable  him  to  charge  their  prices. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


424 

When  he  has  acquired  a  reputation  by  the  excellence  of  his  work,  he 
must  continue  that  excellence  or  his  reputation  will  speedily  decline. 
There  is  no  such  thing  for  a  successful  tailor  as  resting  on  his  laurels. 
There  is  no  Prince  of  Wales  in  this  country,  whose  patronage  alone 
suffices  to  bestow  prestige. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  fashionable  tailor  must  keep  abreast 
of  the  fashions.  He  must,  in  fact,  do  a  little  more  than  that.  He  must 
be  able,  in  a  measure,  to  anticipate  their  changes.  The  customer  who 
is  satisfied  will  advertise  and  extend  the  tailor’s  business,  and  the  tailor 
will  recognize  that  to  give  perfect  satisfaction  his  work  and  goods  must 
be  always  as  they  are  represented. 


( 

UPHOLSTERING  AND  INTERIOR  DEC¬ 
ORATING 

By  CHANDLER  R.  CLIFFORD 

WHAT  are  the  requisites  of  a  successful  upholsterer  —  or,  as  he  is  so 
frequently  called  nowadays,  the  interior  decorator  ?  The  uphol¬ 
sterer  in  a  factory  town  may  succeed  fully  and  completely,  so  long 
as  he  is  only  expected  to  mend  chairs,  cover  lounges,  and  hang  shades; 
but  such  a  man  would  starve  to  death  in  a  fashionable  residence  suburb, 
for  here  he  is  something  more  than  a  mere  artisan ;  he  is  an  interior  dec¬ 
orator. 

The  quality  of  good  taste  must  be  innate,  —  like  the  musical  sense  in 
the  musician, —  and  it  must  also  be  cultivated  by  study.  A  technical 
work-room  knowledge  and  a  knowledge  of  period-design  are  necessary, 
for  the  woman  who  is  having  her  boudoir  done  over  in  the  Pompadour 
style  expects  her  upholsterer,  or  decorator,  to  know  that  Madame  Pom¬ 
padour  was  the  favorite  of  Louis  XV.,  and  that  the  decorations  of  her 
time  were  characterized  by  her  inordinate  extravagance. 

It  can  be  readily  understood  that  in  the  making  of  beautiful  homes 
an  art  education  is  necessary.  In  these  days,  home-makers  are  well  in¬ 
formed  in  the  matter  of  decorative  styles.  They  come  back  from  the 
Orient,  for  example,  impressed  with  all  they  have  seen.  They  may  not 
know  the  difference  between  the  Parthian  or  Lausanian,  but  they  know 
Persian  in  the  abstract.  They  understand  that  the  Roman  was  derived 
from  the  Greek,  and  that  the  Byzantine  was  an  evolution  of  the  Roman.. 
Possibly  their  Spanish  and  Moorish  are  a  little  rhixed,  and  they  may  not 
know  exactly  why  the  Elizabethan  is  so  much  like  the  Dutch,  so  they 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


425 


» 

' 

’ 


[ 


rely  upon  the  decorator  for  historical  correctness,  as  well  as  for  beauty  of 
coloring  and  material.  In  home-making,  art  finds  high  expression,  since 
the  home  environment  forms  character.  Albert  Durer,  Fra  Angelico, 
Palladio,  Raphael,  Michelangelo,  Le  Brun,  Boucher,  and  Watteau  have 
done  some  of  their  best  work  in  mural  painting.  Among  the  members 
of  the  Mural  Decorators’  Club,  of  New  York,  are  most  of  the  celebrated 
American  artists. 

In  Greece,  Rome,  Spain,  Flanders,  the  development  of  the  decorative 
arts  went  hand  in  hand  with  general  progress.  And  when,  after  cen¬ 
turies  of  semi-barbarism,  the  nations  awoke,  the  first  sign  of  the  awaken¬ 
ing  was  the  revival  of  the  decorative  arts.  All  nations  have  had  these 
periods  of  decorative  enthusiasm.  They  come  at  the  time  of  the  coun¬ 
try’s  highest  intelligence  and  greatest  prosperity.  This  enthusiasm  is 
awakening  now  in  America.  The  successful  upholstery- decorator  of  the 
future  will  be  the  man  who  is  skilled  in  his  art,  and  reinforced  by  the 
knowledge  of  what  the  people  want,  and  how  best  to  provide  it  from 
the  wealth  of  historical  suggestion. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  SOLDIER  AND  HIS 

CAREER 


By  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES 

Of  the  United  States  Army 

The  opportunities  for  young  Americans  in  the  regular 
army  have  been  considerably  broadened  by  the 
events  of  the  last  few  years.  The  Spanish  War  was 
fought  to  some  extent  with  the  aid  of  volunteers,  hastily 
enlisted,  or  taken  from  the  state  militia,  but  the  responsi¬ 
bilities  which  the  war  imposed  upon  the  country  made  a 
larger  regular  army  a  continuing  necessity  for  the  future. 

The  volunteers  who  were  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Philippines  have  finally  been  mustered  out,  and  the  regu¬ 
lar  army  will  hereafter  undoubtedly  be  at  least  three  times 
as  large  as  before  the  war  with  Spain.  The  Army  Reor¬ 
ganization  Act,  passed  at  the  beginning  of  1901,  provided  for 
a  regular  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  if  required. 

It  was  thought  by  some  at  the  time  that  this  force  would  be  necessary. 
The  success  achieved  in  restoring  order,  however,  has  resulted  in  limit¬ 
ing  the  regular  army,  for  the  present,  to  about  seventy-six  thousand 


426 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


men.  But  the  President  has  full  authority  to  increase  the  number  to 
one  hundred  thousand. 

The  increase  in  the  size  of  the  army,  and  the  new  responsibilities 
which  the  United  States  has  assumed  in  the  Orient,  are  likely  to  give  a 
heightened  prestige  to  the  army  as  a  profession.  The  soldier’s  career 
has  always  been  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  honorable,  but  many 
years  of  peace,  with  a  military  establishment  insignificant  in  size,  kept 
the  uniform  from  occupying  a  prominent  position  in  the  minds  of  the 
people.  The  probability  of  active  service,  due  to  the  unsettled  condi¬ 
tions  in  our  new  possessions,  indicates  that  there  will  be  more  frequent 
changes  in  the  service  than  formerly,  and  greater  opportunities  for  dis- 
tinction.  More  than  this,  the  reorganization  law  which  has  been  passed 
by  Congress  adds  considerably  to  the  number  of  the  higher  places.  It 
provides  more  officers  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  regiments  than 
were  called  for  under  the  old  organization. 

The  life  of  an  officer  of  the  army  has  many  advantages  and  some 
charms,  but  it  also  has  serious  drawbacks.  A  discussion  of  the  subject 
would  be  incomplete  which  did  not  refer  to  the  disadvantages  as  well  as 
the  advantages  of  military  life. 

Our  service  is  quite  different  from  that  of  other  nations.  For  in¬ 
stance,  in  the  British  service  it  is  not  difficult  for  a  well-bred,  intelli¬ 
gent,  ambitious  young  man  to  enter  the  military  service  and  obtain  a 
commission.  The  course  at  Sandhurst  is  two  years,  whereas  at  West 
Point  it  is  four  years.  The  Sandhurst  course,  while  not  so  rigid  in  ab¬ 
struse  mathematics  as  ours,  appears  to  develop  admirably  the  manly 
qualities  of  the  corps.  I  was  very  favorably  impressed  with  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  latter  on  a  visit  to  Sandhurst  with  Lord  Wolseley.  The 
institution  is  located  in  one  of  the.  most  charming  spots  in  England. 
The  buildings,  while  not  splendid,  are  solid,  substantial,  and  healthful. 
The  quarters  for  the  young  men  are  ample,  with  an  atmosphere  that  I 
should  think  would  promote  clear  brains  and  strong  physiques.  The 
walls  are  adorned  with  pictures  of  the  heroic  achievements  of  the  British 
army  and  with  portraits  of  Wellington,  Marlborough,  Wolfe,  Clive,  and 
other  leading  British  soldiers.  These  decorations  have,  of  course,  a 
strong  inspirational  value.  The  enlistments  in  the  British  army  are 
wholly  voluntary,  and  the  men  are  imbued  with  great  pride  and  spirit. 
From  drummer  boys  to  field-marshals,  they  are  proud  to  wear  the  uni¬ 
form  of  the  British  army  and  to  march  to  the  music  of  the  grenadiers. 

Although  the  American  army  has  been  developed  on  different  lines, 
it  is,  perhaps,  more  efficient,  and  the  incidents  of  its  origin  and  growth 
are  full  of  interest.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Government  under  the 
Constitution,  the  army  consisted  of  eight  companies  of  infantry  and  four 
batteries  of  artillery.  Two  years  later,  the  force  of  infantry  was 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


427 


increased  to  two  regiments,  consisting  of  twelve  companies  each.  Gen¬ 
eral  officers  and  subordinate  staffs  were  then  provided  for.  It  was  not 
until  1796  that  an  adjutant-general  was  placed  on  duty  at  the  seat  of 
government,  that  officer  being  detailed  from  the  line.  The  office  of 
adjutant-general  of  the  army  was  not  regularly  established  until  some  fif¬ 
teen  years  later.  It  was  created  by  Act  of  Congress  approved  March  3, 
1813.  After  the  creation  of  that  bureau,  the  number  of  staff  bureaus 
gradually  increased,  until  we  now  have,  in  addition  to  the  Adjutant-gen¬ 
eral’s  Department,  the  Inspector-general’s  Corps,  the  Bureau  of  Military 
Justice,  the  Signal  Office,  the  Quartermaster’s  Department,  the  Subsist¬ 
ence  Department,  the  Medical  Department,  the  Pay  Department,  the 
Ordnance  Department,  and  the  Corps  of  Engineers. 

When  coordinated  under  one  authoritative  head,  these  staff  depart¬ 
ments  form  an  organization  possessing  great  efficiency.  While  it  should 
be  the  constant  endeavor  to  secure  the  maximum  of  strength  and  effi¬ 
ciency  in  an  army  organization,  the  latter  may  become  so  strong  as  to 
endanger  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  government.  In  this  case  the 
strength  of  the  army  should  be  reduced  simply  by  decreasing  the  number 
of  soldiers,  not  by  distributing  and  paralyzing  their  power.  An  army 
may  be  limited  in  numbers,  but  in  organization  and  efficiency  it  should 
be  perfect. 

Among  officers  who  have  won  glory  for  themselves  and  for  our 
country  through  their  service  in  the  army,  the  first  names  that  occur  to 
every  American  are  those  of  Washington,  Greene,  Wayne,  Jackson, 
Harrison,  Brown,  McCoomb,  Scott,  Taylor,  McClellan,  Halleck,  Grant, 
Sherman,  Meade,  Hancock,  Sheridan,  Thomas,  McPherson,  Sedgwick, 
Sumner,  Kearney,  Fremont,  Lyon,  Canby,  and  others. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  reputations  of  these  great  soldiers  were 
gained  through  long  as  well  as  brilliant  service.  In  no  case  was  fame 
the  result  of  any  single  deed,  however  heroic.  In  fact,  soldiers  have 
performed  single  acts  of  gallantry  surpassing,  perhaps,  any  individual 
deed  of  our  greatest  military  leaders.  In  the  records  of  the  army  are 
many  obscure  examples  of  heroic  conduct.  A  single  instance  will  serve 
to  illustrate:  — 

In  Ohio  was  a  poor  stockade  called  Fort  Stephenson.  Its  armament 
consisted  of  one  cannon,  and  its  garrison  was  composed  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  commanded  by  Major  George  Croghan,  a  young  officer 
of  twenty-two  who  was  born  near  Louisville  in  1791  and  came  of  fighting 
stock,  his  father  having  been  an  officer  in  the  Continental  army.  Grad¬ 
uating  from  William  and  Mary  College  in  18  ro,  he  entered  the  army,  was 
in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  in  1811,  and  a  year  later  was  made  captain  in 
the  Seventeenth  Infantry.  With  this  rank  he  served  under  Harrison,  in 
1812  and  1813,  and  so  distinguished  himself  in  a  sortie  from  Fort  Meigs 


428 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


that  he  was  appointed  aid-de-camp,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  assigned 
to  the  defense  of  Fort  Stephenson.  Lest  Tecumseh  and  the  Indians, 
who  were  coming  across  the  country  from  Fort  Meigs,  should  make  a 
flank  attack,  Harrison  had  authorized  Croghan  to  burn  the  fort  and 
retreat.  This  he  did  not  do.  We  are  determined  to  hold  this  place, 
said  he,  and,  by  Heaven,  we  will!^^  Harrison  thereupon  dispatched 
an  officer  to  relieve  him.  But  Croghan  went  to  headquarters,  carried 
his  point,  and  when,  on  August  i,  the  English  commander  summoned 
him  to  surrender,  the  young  major  sent  back  a  stout  defiance.  The  next 
day  the  bombardment  began,  and  toward  afternoon  an  assault  was  or¬ 
dered.  The  English  soldiers,  in  three  columns  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men  each,  were  to  attack  on  three  sides.  The  Indians  were  to 
storm  the  fort;  but  as  the  latter  came  out  of  the  woods  a  steady  and 
well-directed  fire  from  the  fort  drove  them  back.  The  British  troops, 
thus  left  to  fight  alone,  came  on  bravely  to  the  very  gates,  made  a  des¬ 
perate  assault  lasting  two  hours,  and  then  retreated,  with  all  the  officers 
and  one-fifth  of  the  men  killed,  wounded,  or  missing.  A  wave  of  tre¬ 
mendous  enthusiasm  rolled  over  the  country  as  the  result  of  this  victory; 
but  who  to-day  knows  anything  of  the  personality  of  Major  Croghan? 

The  army  during  most  of  its  history  has  been  on  the  frontier, —  in  the 
vanguard  of  civilization.  It  has  penetrated  the  forests,  crossed  the 
plains,  and  scaled  the  mountains,  carrying  the  flag  of  our  country  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  hardy  pioneers,  the  miners,  the  hunters,  and  the  home¬ 
builders,  who  have  spread  civilization  over  the  vast  continent  of 
America.  In  our  great  wars,  the  army’s  fortitude,  patriotism,  and  sacri¬ 
fice  shine  brightly  on  the  pages  of  history. 

Those  following  a  military  career  are  subjected  to  many  privations 
and  hardships,  yet  every  true  American  is  proud  to  be  in  the  service  of 
the  enlightened  people  of  the  United  States.  I  regard  the  boy  who  re¬ 
ceives  an  appointment  to  West  Point  as  very  fortunate.  The  rigid  dis¬ 
cipline  and  the  physical  training  make  him  a  fine  specimen  of  man,  both 
in  mind  and  body.  High  ideals  of  honor  and  loyalty  are  planted  in  his 
bosom.  I  believe,  that  there  is  no  manufactory  of  manhood  in  the  world 
so  effective  in  turning  out  a  highly  finished  product  as  is  West  Point. 
But  the  raw  material  must  be  good,  or  it  will  not  be  received  at  the 
Military  Academy.  The  boy  who  hopes  to  enter  must  be  perfectly 
sound  physically  and  free  from  all  blemish;  he  must,  moreover,  be  able 
to  show  that  he  has  a  good  and  well-informed  mind.  He  must  have  a 
thorough  understanding  of  arithmetic,  be  able  to  read  with  intelligence,' 
and  write  and  spell  with  accuracy.  The  test  in  arithmetic  is  particularly 
severe,  and  unless  the  boy  has  a  good  mathematical  mind  he  will  not  be 
able  to  pass  the  entrance  examinations,  or  will  fail  to  hold  his  own  with 
his  class  and  will  be  dropped.  He  must  also  have  considerable  knowl- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


429 

edge  of  the  other  common  branches  of  an  English  education.  The  pay 
of  a  cadet  is  $450  a  year.  He  is  not  permitted  to  receive  money  or  any 
other  supplies  from  his  parents  or  friends  without  the  sanction  of  the 
superintendent.  This  rule  is  rigidly  enforced,  for  the  purpose  of  elimi¬ 
nating  among  the  cadets  all  distinction  arising  from  the  varying  social 
positions  and  degrees  of  prosperity  of  their  parents.  The  course  at  the 
academy  is  four  years. 

When  the  cadet  graduates,  he  is  assigned  to  either  the  infantry,  the 
artillery,  the  cavalry,  or  the  engineering  corps.  The  branch  of  the 
service  he  enters  is  determined  by  his  standing  in  his  class  upon  gradua¬ 
tion.  Those  who  are  at  the  head  have  their  choice  and  usually  select 
the  engineering  corps.  The  infantry  is  regarded  as  the  least  desirable 
branch.  The  young  graduate  is  a  second  lieutenant,  with  pay  of  $1,200  a 
year  at  the  beginning.  He  is  very  likely  to  be  assigned  to  some  remote 
garrison  post,  where  life  in  time  of  peace  is  one  of  monotony.  Unless  a 
man  has  great  enthusiasm  for  the  profession,  or  possesses  resources 
within  himself,  he  is  in  danger  of  sinking  into  a  state  of  mental  apathy, 
or  of  becoming  something  of  a  martinet.  Many  officers  resign  to  enter 
civil  life,  and  find,  as  engineers  or  professors,  more  freedom  and  larger 
incomes  than  can  be  enjoyed  in  the  army.  Yet  the  life  is  full  of  com¬ 
pensations.  The  West  Point  graduate  has  a  high  social  position,  and 
need  have  no  worry  over  financial  matters  or  the  solution  of  the  bread 
and  butter  problem.  In  time  of  war  he  is,  of  course,  supreme,  and  wins 
from  his  fellow-men  a  degree  of  gratitude  and  adulation  that  never 
comes  to  followers  of  the  professions  of  peace. 

Throughout  its  history,  the  army  has  maintained  a  high  standard  of 
morals  and  integrity,  though  at  times  there  have  been  infiuences  which 
would  seem  to  dim  and  mar  the  luster  of  its  service.  Devotion  to  the 
welfare  of  his  country  is  as  sacred  to  the  true  soldier  as  life  itself.  Un¬ 
doubtedly,  the  army  received  its  greatest  inspiration  from  the  high  char¬ 
acter  of  Washington  himself.  Its  achievements  will  live  in  history  as 
long  as  noble  deeds  shall  be  honored  and  revered.  Its  purpose  has  been 
to  maintain  the  institutions  established  by  the  Fathers,  to  repel  the  on¬ 
slaughts  of  savage  ferocity,  to  give  protection  to  the  weak  and  innocent, 
to  guard  the  well-being  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  every  quar¬ 
ter  of  our  vast  territory  and  in  foreign  lands. 

Military  life  is  one  of  constant  labor,  study,  and  rigid  and  faithful 
devotion  to  duty.  'Our  soldiers  have  never  failed  in  their  duty.  I  am 
confident  that  they  never  will,  and  that  the  present  high  standard  of 
honor  and  loyalty  will  be  always  maintained. 


430 


A  CAREER  IN  THE  NAVY 

By  WINFIELD  SCOTT  SCHLEY 
Rear-Admiral  U^iited  States  Navy 

[SUPPOSE  that  nine  out  of  every  ten  American  boys 
■  would  like  to  go  into  the  army  or  the  navy.  This 
speaks  well  for  the  boys.  It  means  that  they  have  a 
wholesome  spirit,  the  American  spirit.  And  as  a  matter 
of  fact  the  training  at  Annapolis  —  it  is  the  same  at  West 
Point  —  is  a  fine  thing  for  a  boy  who  has  good  stuff  in 
him.  It  strengthens  and  solidifies  his  ideas  of  honor.  It 
makes  a  gentleman  of  him, —  I  mean  a  gentleman  in  the 
true  sense  of  that  fine  but  somewhat  abused  word.  Over 
in  London,  a  few  years  ago,  a  prize  was  offered  for  the 
best  definition  of  a  gentleman,  and  the  one  for  which  the 
prize  was  awarded  is  this:  ^'A  gentleman  is  a  knight 
whose  armor  is  honor  and  whose  lance  is  courtesy. 
This  may  sound  like  a  somevv^hat  fanciful  definition,  but  it  sums  up  the 
matter  pretty  well,  I  think.  The  young  man  who  starts  out  with  an 
armor  of  honor  and  a  lance  of  courtesy  is  well  equipped  for  life’s  battles. 
It  may  be  that  he  will  not  win  the  success  which  comes  from  trampling 
on  others,  but  he  does  not  care  for  that  kind  of  success. 

In  addition  to  his  high  ideal  of  honor,  the  Annapolis  cadet,  of  course, 
acquires  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information  about  guns  and  tactics  and 
methods  in  general  of  subduing  the  enemy;  but  he  learns  something 
even  more  important  than  this, —  he  learns  how  to  subdue  himself. 
Winning  a  naval  battle  is  often  easier  than  winning  a  battle  against 
^  one’s  own  tendencies  and  inclinations,  and  as  important  for  the  latter  as 
for  the  former  is  strict  training  and  discipline  in  the  period  of  youth, 
when  lessons  well  learned  are  least  likely  to  be  forgotten,  and  character 
is  forming  for  good  or  ill.  This  is  why  I  regard  the  boy  as  fortunate 
who  is  able  to  go  to  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis. 

The  great  majority  of  boys  cannot  go,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  find 
consolation  for  them.  The  naval  career  has,  besides  its  advantages  and 
attractions,  some  serious  drawbacks.  The  boy  or  young  man  who  thinks 
that  he  could  be  happy  if  he  could  enter  the  navy,  should  remember  that 
the  naval  officer  must  be  absent  from  his  country,  his  home,  his  wife,  his 
children,  many  of  his  friends, —  in  short,  from  almost  everything  he  holds 
dear, —  for  nearly  half  of  the  long  years  of  his  active  service.  Yes,  of 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


431 


course,  there  is  the  home-coming-,  but  when  one  spends  two  or  three 
years  sailing  the  seas  or  lying  at  anchor  in  foreign  ports,  the  anticipation 
of  home-coming  is  rather  too  long  drawn  out. 

In  fact,  the  naval  officer  has  no  permanent  home.  The  care  and  rear¬ 
ing  of  his  children  devolves  almost  entirely  upon  their  mother.  This  is 
hard  on  her,  and  is  a  responsibility  in  which  he  would  very  much  like  to 
have  his  share.  If  he  has  boys,  he  finds,  when  they  grow  up,  that  he 
cannot  give  them  as  good  a  start  in  the  world  as  he  would  like  to,  be¬ 
cause  he  has  so  few  shore  connections.  The  navy  is,  of  course,  no  place 
for  the  young  man  who  is  ambitious  to  become  rich.  It  gives  one 
nothing  more  than  a  eomfortable  living.  In  times  of  peace  it  does 
not  matter  how  restless  or  energetic  or  ambitious  he  may  be  as  far 
as  advancement  is  concerned.  He  must  wait  for  promotion,  and  usu¬ 
ally  must  wait  long.  It  is  true  that  in  war  times  the  conditions  are 
very  different,  but  war  does  not  come  every  year,  nor  every  decade,  and 
I  think  that  as  time  passes  it  will  become  of  rarer  occurrence.  So  the 
naval  officer  may  ne^er  get  an  opportunity  to  prove  to  himself  and  to 
others  that  heroism  and  other  great  qualities  have  been  slumbering  in 
his  bosom.  Every  cadet  who  is  graduated  from  Annapolis  dreams  of 
glory,  and  I  feel  sure  that  there  is  not  one  who  would  hesitate  an  instant 
in  the  face  of  duty,  however  perilous.  But  to  only  a  few  does  the  great 
chance  come.  Another  thing  I  want  to  say  is  that  I  am  unalterably  in 
favor  of  giving  the  men  of  the  navy  every  opportunity  for  gaining  com¬ 
missions.  Upon  this  subject  I  recorded  my  opinions  in  an  official  report 
published  in  1886  or  1887,  while  chief  of  the  bureau  of  equipment.  The 
man  behind  the  gun  in  the  navy  ought  to  have  the  same  privilege  as  his 
comrade  in  the  army  to  gain  a  commission.  I  am  in  favor  of  granting 
to  him,  after  gaining  his  promotion,  the  opportunity  of  a  course  of,  say, 
two  years  at  the  academy,  that  he  may  acquire  sufficient  knowledge  of 
mathematics  and  other  sciences  not  to  be  at  a  disadvantage  with  the  grad¬ 
uate  of  the  naval  academy  in  matters  of  professional  technic. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  discuss  the  details  of  the  plan  that  should  be 
adopted;  these  may  be  left  safely  to  the  authorities;  but  I  have  thought, 
for  many  years,  that  the  men  of  the  navy  who  are  so  intelligent,  so  capa¬ 
ble,  and  so  true,  ought  to  have  the  same  chance  of  reaching  its  highest 
grades  as  would  be  open  to  them  in  business  or  professional  life  in  civil 
employments  on  shore.  A  man  or  a  boy  who  undertakes  a  naval  career 
ought  to  be  able,  through  industry,  meritorious  performance  of  duty,  and 
skill  in  his  profession,  to  reach  a  commission,  and,  by  application  to  his 
duties,  good  conduet,  sobriety,  or  heroic  performance  of  service,  to  be 
advanced,  afterward,  from  grade  to  grade  to  the  highest. 

It  is  possible  for  men  in  each  of  several  European  navies  to  attain 
commissions  when  their  actions  in  battle  enhance  the  national  prestige, 


432 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


or  add  to  the  nation’s  grandeur.  Indeed,  the  most  courted  of  England’s 
decorations,  the  Victoria  Cross,  is  found  alike  on  the  breasts  of  the  sailor 
and  the  admiral.  In  Germany,  the  Iron  Cross  is  worn  as  worthily  by  the 
sailor  or  the  soldier  as  by  the  admiral  or  the  general. 

I  have  a  great  fondness  and  admiration  for  the  men  of  our  navy, 
after  a  service  with  them  extending  now  well  on  to  forty-five  years. 
They  are  always  courageous ;  and,  no  matter  how  perilous  the  service  to 
be  done,  they  are  always  ready  to  undertake  it.  In  battle  they  are 
valiant;  but,  the  struggle  over,  they  are  as  gentle  as  women  to  those  who 
were  their  foes.  Such  men  would  honor  commissions,  as  they  have  hon¬ 
ored  their  country  in  every  war  and  on  every  sea ;  and  I  think  that,  when 
these  commissions  have  been  won,  we  ought,  in  all  fairness,  to  give  them 
the  chance  of  that  higher  training  which  will  place  them,  in  professional 
equipment,  on  as  high  ground  as  the  graduate  of  Annapolis  enjoys.  I 
feel  sure  that,  under  such  circumstances,  the  men  of  our  navy  would 
sustain  themselves  with  credit  to  the  service  and  to  the  country. 

Once  establish  the  fact  that  the  way  is  open  from  the  forecastle  to  the 
quarter-deck,  and  the  details  of  promotion  will  soon  adjust  themselves; 
and  I  feel  sure  that  the  men  of  the  navy  will  not  be  found  wanting  in 
ability  to  reach  the  highest  places,  by  improving  every  opportunity  for 
distinction.  I  think,  further,  that  the  result  would  be  good  in  bringing 
the  navy  closer  to  the  people  of  our  country.  No  man  who  enters  the 
navy  should,  for  that  reason,  lose  any  of  the  chances  of  rising  that 
would  be  his  in  civil  employment.  This  is  more  in  harmony  with  the 
true  spirit  of  our  institutions,  which  offer  to  every  man  opportunities 
for  reaching  any  position  in  our  land  through  talent,  industry,  and 
worthiness. 

While,  as  I  have  said,  the  highest  places  in  the  navy  should  be  opened 
to  all  Americans  of  good  character  and  ability,  yet  the  course  at  the 
Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis  gives  the  young  man  much  instruction  and 
knowledge  that  could  not  be  obtained  in  years  of  experience  and  study 
by  himself.  A  young  man  who  receives  an  appointment  to  Annapolis 
has  a  well-defined  and  very  honorable  career  provided  for  him.  His  po¬ 
sition  is  in  many  respects  an  enviable  one.  As  is  well  known,  the  ap¬ 
pointments  to  Annapolis  are  made  by  the  President  and  by  Congressmen, 
who  usually  determine  the  fitness  of  candidates  by  holding  competitive 
examinations.  The  boy  who,  after  passing  a  most  rigid  physical  ex¬ 
amination,  gains  the  highest  marks  in  the  mental  test,  receives  the 
appointment;  he  must  then  pass  an  entrance  examination  before  he  is 
made  a  eadet. 

The  Annapolis  course  covers  a  period  of  six  years,  four  at  the  acad¬ 
emy  and  two  at  sea.  At  the  expiration  of  the  sea  service,  the  cadet  re¬ 
turns  to  the  academy  for  final  graduation.  The  candidate  must  at  the 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


433 


time  of  examination  for  admission  be  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and 
twenty,  and  well  equipped  mentally  and  physically.  He  cannot  be  un¬ 
dersized,  or  in  any  way  deformed  or  afflicted  with  any  disease  or  infirm¬ 
ity  which  might  render  him  unfit  for  military  service.  He  must  be 
unmarried  and  be  able  to  pass  an  examination  in  reading,  writing,  spell¬ 
ing,  arithmetic,  geography,  English  grammar,  history,  particularly  that 
of  our  own  country,  algebra  through  quadratic  equations,  and  plain 
geometry.  Candidates  who  have  passed  the  physical  and  mental  exam¬ 
inations  receive  appointment  as  cadets  and  become  students  of  the 
academy.  Each  cadet  is  obliged  to  sign  articles  binding  himself  to 
serve  in  the  United  States  Navy  for  eight  years,  including  the  time 
at  the  Naval  Academy.  The  cadet  receives  a  salary  of  $500  a  year 
beginning  at  the  time  of  his  admission. 


THE  POLICEMAN 

By  GEORGE  W.  McCLUSKr 
Former  Chief  of  the  Detective  Bureau  of  the  New  York  Police  Department 

Like  the  soldier,  the  policeman  must  be  able-bodied,  intelligent,  brave, 
and  calm,  but,  above  all,  he  must  be  a  man  of  good  judgment.  He 
is  invested  with  what  might  be  called  unwritten  orders,  and 
has  much  discretionary  power.  Being  an  essential  feature  of  municipal 
life,  it  is  the  policy  of  every  city  government  in  this  country  to  attract 
good  men  to  its  police  service.  Salaries  are  adequate,  and  there  is  the 
prospect  of  a  pension  at  the  end  of  a  certain  number  of  years,  usually 
twenty-five  or  thirty,  of  active  service. 

No  man  who  lacks  courage  and  steady  nerves  need  hope  for  suc¬ 
cess  in  the  police  service.  The  policeman’s  courage  must  be  the  kind 
that  prompts  immediate  action ;  his  calmness  of  temperament  must  be 
sufficient  to  always  restrain  him  from  undue  precipitancy.  In  some 
quarters  of  the  great  cities,  particularly  in  those  parts  where  excitable 
foreigners  swarm,  the  policeman  is  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend  to  all. 
He  protects  the  weak  and  admonishes  the  strong,  and  so  wins  gratitude, 
respect,  and  hatred.  All  kinds  of  disputes  are  referred  to  the  po¬ 
liceman  to  settle,  and  he  does  settle  many  with  a  judicial  wisdom,  direct¬ 
ness,  and  simplicity  that  would  do  credit  to  men  who  sit  upon  the  bench. 
The  policeman  comes  in  contact  with  the  most  varied  types  of  human¬ 
ity.  Either  in  or  out  of  uniform,  he  is  a  marked  man.  He  is  always  on 
duty  —  always  a  policeman.  It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  details  of  the 
policeman’s  daily  life.  Many  elements  of  danger  lurk  in  his  path.  He 
13—28 


434 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


must  fight  and  conquer  desperate  characters;  often,  single-handed,  he 
attacks  a  gang  of  men  as  merciless  as  wolves  in  winter,  men  who  have 
no  appreciation  of  the  courage  of  a  foe.  Unfortunate  and  helpless 
creatures  fall  under  his  care,  and  stray  waifs  he  treats  with  the  tender¬ 
ness  of  a  mother. 

A  brief  survey  of  the  police  department  of  New  York,  its  opportuni¬ 
ties  and  requirements,  may  be  instructive,  and,  as  almost  all  of  the  police 
departments  of  the  country  are  conducted  on  similar  lines,  it  will  serve 
as  a  general  guide  to  those  who  contemplate  entering  the  service.  Each 
municipality  fixes,  of  course,  its  own  salaries  and  pensions.  A  man  de¬ 
siring  to  become  a  policeman  in  New  York,  must  be  appointed  according 
to  law,  under  civil  service  regulations,  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one 
and  thirty.  At  the  age  of  sixty-five  he  must  retire  from  service ;  but, 
after  having  served  twenty-five  years  and  having  attained  the  age  of 
fifty-five,  he  is  allowed  to  retire  on  a  pension  equal  to  one-half  of  his  pay 
at  the  time  of  retirement.  The  policeman’s  pay  at  the  beginning  is 
eight  hundred  dollars  a  year.  This  amount  is  increased  at  regular  in¬ 
tervals  during  a  period  of  five  years,  until  it  reaches  fourteen  hundred 
dollars,  which  is  the  maximum  pay  of  the  ordinary  patrolman. 

The  applicant  for  a  position  as  a  policeman  must  first  have  been  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  for  one  year  and  must  be  able  to  read  and 
write  the  English  language  understandingly.  He  must  be  at  least  five 
feet  eight  inches  in  height ;  must  have  a  chest  measurement  of  at  least 
thirty-four  and  a  half  inches ;  and  must  weigh  not  less  than  one  hundred 
and  forty  pounds  without  clothing,  and  be  under  thirty  years  of  age. 
The  first  test  to  which  he  is  subjected  is  as  to  his  mental  capacity;  then 
he  is  put  through  a  test  of  muscular  strength,  and  lastly,  the  Board  of 
Police  Surgeons  pass  upon  his  general  physical  qualifications.  All  of 
these  examinations  are  rigid.  If  the  candidate  be  successful  in  passing 
them,  he  is  entered  in  the  school  of  instruction,  which  is  in  charge  of  a 
sergeant  of  police.  He  there  learns  the  rules  of  the  service  and  also  the 
manual  of  arms  of  the  United  States  Army.  He  is  then  appointed  on 
probation  for  three  months  and  must  break  in  with  a  regular  police¬ 
man  at  night,  wearing  citizen’s  clothes.  At  the  end  of  the  probation 
period  he  is  again  examined  by  the  doctors,  and  if  he  passes,  and  no 
complaint  has  been  lodged  against  him,  he  begins  regular  routine  duty. 

During  the  policeman’s  first  few  months  of  service,  dangers  much 
more  subtle  than  those  I  have  described  threaten  him.  Many  persons 
are  attracted  by  his  brass  buttons,  and  these  he  must  avoid  religiously 
if  he  would  not  precipitate  his  own  downfall.  The  over-friendly  saloon- 
man,  it  is  not  wise  to  know  too  well.  Also  innumerable  flatterers, 
who  have  selfish  interests  to  promote,  seek  by  cajoling  him  to  create 
within  the  green  policeman  an  undue  sense  of  his  own  consequence.  It 


BUvSiNESB  AND  COMMERCE 


435 


is  therefore  necessary  for  him  to  steer  a  discreet  middle-course.  It  is 
almost  superfluous  to  say  that  drink  is  the  policeman’s  greatest  menace. 

The  young  policeman  who  tempers  ambition  with  discretion,  stands 
a  better  chance  of  promotion  than  many  who  are  overzealous.  It  is 
not  the  policeman’s  duty  to  All  the  station-house  with  prisoners  so  much 
as  to  keep  order  on  his  ^^beat.^^  Many  policemen  have  won  promotion 
for  bravery  in  life  saving. 

When  the  policeman  is  advanced,  he  becomes  a  roundsman,  at  a  salary 
of  $1,500  a  year.  He  goes  on  patrol  with  the  men,  and  is  responsible  for 
their  conduct,  reporting  to  the  sergeant.  The  next  step  in  the  promo¬ 
tion  of  a  policeman  is  to  the  place  of  sergeant.  In  this  position  he  receives 
-  $2,000  a  year,  and  is  responsible  for  the  entire  precinct  during  absence 
of  the  captain.  Much  of  his  work  is  clerical,  but,  in  case  of  fire,  he 
turns  out  with  the  men  and  has  charge  of  those  of  his  precinct.  He  is 
also  in  command  at  the  station-house  when  the  captain  is  away.  A 
police  captaincy  is  a  position  of  considerable  importance.  The  salary  is 
$2,750  per  year.  The  captain  is  responsible  to  his  superiors  for  the  con¬ 
dition  of  the  precinct  in  his  charge.  He  is  held  responsible  for  the 
abatement  of  all  nuisances  and  the  general  conduct  of  the  citizens  of  his 
precinct.  The  next  grade  is  that  of  the  inspectors,  who  receive  $3,000  a 
year,  and  each  is  responsible  for  several  precincts. 

The  detective  branch  of  the  Police  Department  involves  the  exercise 
of  more  sagacity  than  is  required  of  the  ordinary  patrolman.  The  de¬ 
tective  must  be  able  to  think  and  act  quickly,  to  seize  an  opportunity. 
The  truth  of  the  old  saying  thdt  Conscience  makes  cowards  of  us  all 
is  the  detective’s  best  aid.  Ninety-nine  men  out  of  a  hundred  are  more 
honest  than  dishonest.  They  are  at  home  in  the  legitimate  walks  of  life, 
and  only  startled  strangers  when  they  penetrate  the  realm  of  crime.  To  v 
hunt  such  men  is  no  more  difficult  than  to  run  down  an  animal  in  a 
strange  wood. 


CIVIL  ENGINEERING  AND  ITS  OPPOR¬ 
TUNITIES 

WILLIAM  Barclay  Parsons,  chief  engineer  of  the  Rapid  Transit 
Commission,  of  New  York,  speaks  with  authority  on  all  matters 
pertaining  to  his  profession.  He  says:  Civil  engineering  is 

one  of  the  most  progressive  of  professions,  offering  at  the  present  time 
greater  opportunities  to  young  men  than  ever  before.  Especially  is 
this  true  in  our  own  country.  The  American  engineer,  unhampered  by 
tradition  and  obliged  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  unusual  circumstances, 


43^ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


has  introduced  into  every  branch  of  the  profession  new  methods,  marked 
by  a  rigorous  applieation  of  scientific  principles,  simplicity  of  detail,  and 
great  practicability. 

Railroads  still  offer  the  widest  field  for  the  younger  engineer.  In 
the  United  States  every  year,  several  thousand  miles  of  track  are  con¬ 
structed,  in  addition  to  the  double  tracking  of  single-track  roads  and  the 
reconstruction  of  lines  to  bring  them  up  to  the  modern  standard  of  effi- 
eiency.  The  custom  of  consigning  the  maintenance  of  railway  property 
to  engineers  is  rapidly  extending  among  railroad  managers.  On  one  of 
the  great  trunk  lines  the  rule  of  placing  educated  engineers  in  responsi¬ 
ble  positions  has  been  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  for  appointment  to 
any  offiee  of  trust  except  in  the  traffic  department,  the  applicant  must 
be  an  engineer.  The  wisdom  of  this  course  is  being  appreciated  more 
and  more  by  other  eompanies,  who  are  applying  aceurate  and  seientific 
methods  to  the  maintenance  of  their  properties,  and  so  opening  many 
opportunities  to  young  engineers. 

The  prospect  for  the  young  man  in  bridge  building  is  not  so  bright. 
The  old  practice,  still  in  vogue  in  Europe,  of  having  bridge  designs  fur¬ 
nished  by  individual  engineers,  has  been  almost  entirely  abandoned  in 
this  eountr}^,  in  favor  of  letting  bridge  eompanies  or  manufacturers  sub¬ 
mit  their  own  plans,  subject  to  such  conditions  and  specifications  as  the 
bridge  buyer  imposes.  The  bridge  engineer  of  to-day,  therefore,  is  al¬ 
most  invariably  a  manufacturer,  and  the  young  engineer  who  desires  to 
follow  this  branch  with  success  must  eonnect  himself  with  one  of  the 
bridge  eompanies,  and,  in  proportion  to  his  ambition,  must  be  possessed 
of  eommercial  ability  and,  if  possible,  of  financial  backing.  The  princi¬ 
ples  of  bridge  designing  and  eonstruction  are  an  essential  part  of  the 
knowledge  of  almost  every  class  of  engineers,  and  especially  to  those  who 
follow  railroading,  where,  by  necessity,  ample  opportunities  are  afforded 
for  the  prosecution  of  this  most  interesting  of  studies. 

Engineers  a  hundred  years  ago  were  largely  occupied  in  eanal  con- 
struetion,  but  the  development  of  railways  has  put  an  end  to  the  build¬ 
ing  of  eanals  in  the  original  way,  and,  in  some  localities,  has  even  led  to 
their  abandonment.  The  eanal  of  the  future  will  be  constructed  on  a 
very  much  larger  scale  than  the  eanal  of  the  past.  It  will  be  of  great 
size,  eapable  of  floating  not  merely  the  typieal  canal-boat,  but  the  full- 
sized  ship  of  eommeree.  It  will  be  an  artificial  river. 

The  problems  of  harbor  and  river  improvements  are  well  worthy  of 
the  consideration  of  engineers.  In  this  country,  where  large  areas  lying 
remote  from  the  eoast  produce  great  quantities  of  wheat  and  other  staples 
which  do  not  demand  rapid  transportation  by  rail  through  long  distances, 
a  more  perfeet  development  of  water  carriage  is  very  important.  For¬ 
tunately,  our  great  inland  seas  and  large  rivers  already  present  the 


BUvSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


437 


natural  foundations  for  the  system.  At  present,  their  care  and  improve¬ 
ment  are  vested  entirely  in  the  corps  of  engineers  of  the  United  States 
Army,  who  are  inclined  to  devote  themselves  to  the  construction  of  new 
fortifications  and  coast  defenses  and  leave  the  improvement  of  our  water 
ways  to  civilians.  The  study,  then,  of  harbors  and  rivers,  and  the  best 
means  of  rendering  them  most  serviceable,  offers  a  profitable  field  to  the 
civil  engineer. 

Another  branch  of  engineering  which  is  steadily  widening  its  scope  of 
utility  and  need  is  sanitation.  As  the  towns  multiply  and  grow  into 
cities,  the  disposal  of  all  matter  included  in  the  term  sewage  becomes  a 
great  question,  increasing  in  seriousness  as  the  locality  is  removed  from 
free  tide-water,  or  is  prohibited  from  emptying  its  drainage  into  flowing 
streams.  For  all  such  cities  there  must  be  devised  a  plan  of  sewage, 
the  details  of  which  will  largely  depend  upon  the  natural  or  artificial 
features  of  the  location  in  question.  The  sanitary  engineer  in  this 
country  is  already  recognized  as  a  necessity,  and  his  importance  will  be 
still  more  deeply  appreciated  in  the  future.  The  ability  to  furnish  our 
large  cities  with  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  water  is  a  question  equally 
as  important  as  that  of  sewage  disposal,  and  as  our  cities  increase  in  num¬ 
ber  and  size,  and  the  possible  sources  of  supply  grow  correspondingly 
fewer,  there  will  come  a  greater  demand  for  capable  engineers. 

In  addition  to  the  openings  offered  in  the  United  States,  the  more 
extensive  development  of  Central  and  South  America  and  the  Orient, 
now  fairly  under  way,  will  cause  a  large  demand  for  engineering  work, 
particularly  in  the  specialties  above  mentioned,  and  in  these  regions  the 
American  engineer,  with  his  more  direct,  efficient,  and  less  expensive 
methods,  will  undoubtedly  find  many  opportunities. 

As  to  the  natural  qualities  of  character  essential  to  the  engineer,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  life  he  is  obliged  to  lead  is  far  from  easy, 
and  is  often  full  of  hardship.  Except  for  a  few,  a  roving  life,  or  one 
subject  to  many  changes,  will  be  the  rule.  The  engineer,  therefore, 
must  have  a  genuine  love  for  his  profession,  and  so  be  willing  to  sacrifice 
much  for  it,  and  to  forego  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life.  He  should  be 
broad  and  even  daring  in  his  views,  yet  conservative  in  their  application. 
He  must  be  possessed  of  executive  ability  and  tact’  so  as  to  be  able  to 
cope  with  and  control  men  of  all  ranks,  for  with  such  the  engineer  has 
to  deal.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  engineer  should  have  an  aptitude 
for  business,  as  such  matters  are  usually  intrusted  to  those  especially 
fitted  for  it;  but  when  a  man  combines  the  skill  of  the  engineer  with  abil¬ 
ity  for  commercial  management,  he  may  make  large  sums  of  money  by 
applying  the  profession  of  engineering  to  contracting. 

Finally,  we  come  to  the  question  as  to  the  preliminary  education  of 
the  engineer.  It  cannot  be  said  that  a  technical  education  at  one  of  our 


43^ 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


scientific  schools  is  an  absolute  necessity,  in  face  of  the  fact  that  many 
of  our  ablest  engineers  have  achieved  success  without  the  advantage  of 
that  training,  but  such  a  course  is  undoubtedly  of  immense  value.  It 
is  not  well,  however,  to  enter  a  scientific  course  until  an  age  has  been 
reached  when  the  student  is  able  to  fully  appreciate  the  advantages  of¬ 
fered,  and  to  work  seriously  with  the  earnest  feeling  that  he  is  now 
taking  preliminary  steps  in  his  life’s  work.  It  will  be  to  his  advantage, 
therefore,  to  obtain  first  a  liberal  education  at  a  college  of  high  stand¬ 
ing,  and  then  to  enter  one  of  the  prominent  engineering  schools.  Such 
a  course  usually  covers  four  years.  When  the  student  has  graduated,  he 
must  not  think  himself  an  able  civil  engineer;  such  he  will  become  only 
after  he  has  acquired  experience  and  can  effectively  apply  his  knowl¬ 
edge. 

The  young  engineer  must  have  a  thorough  understanding  of  algebra, 
geometry,  and  trigonometry,  and  a  familiarity  with  higher  mathematics 
as  far  as  and  including  calculus.  Mathematics  of  a  more  complex  nature 
than  this  is  rarely  used  by  an  engineer.  Because  the  engineer  is  con¬ 
stantly  employed  in  making  computations,  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that 
he  must  necessarily  be  a  great  mathematician.  There  are  those  who  claim, 
and  with  reason,  that  the  study  of  this  subject  beyond  the  limits  out¬ 
lined  above  is  rather  a  detriment,  as  tending  to  cause  the  mind  to  be¬ 
come  engrossed  in  the  minute  details  of  an  exact  science,  and  thereby 
placing  a  restraint  upon  that  broad  freedom  of  thought  necessary  to 
grasp  the  natural  demands,  necessities,  or  possibilities  of  a  location, 
and  hampering  the  conception  of  bold  plans  and  the  fertility  of  re¬ 
source  essential  to  the  successful  accomplishment  of  enterprises  in  the 
face  of  harassing  difficulties. 

The  engineer  must  also  have  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  mechan¬ 
ics  of  solids  and  fluids,  both  theoretical  and  applied,  and  a  perfect  un¬ 
derstanding  of  the  general  laws  of  physics  as  relating  to  heat,  light, 
electricity,  sound,  and  the  general  properties  of  solids  and  fluids.  He 
must  be  familiar  with  the  principles  of  geology  and  chemistry,  espe¬ 
cially  relating  to  the  manufacture  of  the  common  metals,  and  have  a 
knowledge  of  hydraulics  and  the  general  features  of  machinery.  It  is  to 
be  understood,  of  course,  that  he  must  be  capable  of  the  practical  appli¬ 
cation  of  these  studies  in  mechanical  drawing,  surveying,  testing  the 
strength  of  materials,  calculating  strains,  etc.  At  the  best  scientific 
schools  as  much  time  as  possible,  during  both  vacations  and  terms,  is 
devoted  to  practical  operations  in  the  field,  such,  for  example,  as  locating 
an  imaginary  railroad,  or  making  surveys  for  water- works.  Such  prac¬ 
tice  is  of  great  value  to  the  student.  Both  before  and  after  becoming  an 
engineer,  he  will  derive  much  profit  from  a  well-kept  notebook,  in  which 
he  jots  down  such  facts  as  are  constantly  coming  to  his  notice,  remem- 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


439 


bering  that  information  and  experience  are  to  the  engineer  what  capital 
is  to  the  merchant. 

The  American  engineer  is,  first  of  all,  an  advance  agent  of  civiliza 
tion.  Already  he  is  building  railroads  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  and 
planning  tasks  in  the  Philippines,  while  in  China,  India,  and  Africa  he  is 
exerting  a  potential  influence.  One  or  two  achievements  may  be  cited 
to  prove  his  claims  to  leadership.  Two  years  ago  the  British  govern¬ 
ment  invited  proposals  for  the  building  of  a  railway  viaduct  across  the 
Gotkeik  gorge,  a  deep  rift  in  the  Shan  Hills  of  Burmah,  eighty  miles 
east  of  Mandalay.  When  the  proposals  were  opened  it  was  found  that 
the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  stood  ready  to  do  the  work  in  a  shorter 
time  and  for  less  money  than  any  of  the  English  builders,  and  it  was 
awarded  the  contract.  The  steel  for  the  proposed  viaduct  was  forged 
and  shaped  in  Steelton,  and  then  shipped  to  Rangoon  by  way  of  New 
York,  whence  it  was  shipped  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  inland  to 
the  intended  site.  With  the  first  consignment  of  material,  went  a  gang 
of  picked  workmen,  with  Engineer  John  C.  Turk  at  their  head,  and  a 
giant  traveling  crane  capable  of  lifting  a  girder  weighing  twenty-five 
tons.  The  erection  of  the  viaduct  was  begun  on  the  first  day  of  Decem¬ 
ber,  1899,  and  with  this  crane,  especially  designed  for  the  task  in  hand, 
the  towers  were  put  in  place,  the  colossal  steel  traveler,  as  fast  as  one 
span  was  completed,  being  pushed  along  to  the  next,  and  with  its  over¬ 
hang  picking  up  from  the  ground  below  the  parts  needed  for  another 
section  of  the  work.  Floods,  a  faulty  transport  service,  and  a  capricious 
climate  greatly  hampered  operations  at  the  outset,  but  American  inge¬ 
nuity  proved  superior  to  all  obstacles,  and  October  16,  1900,  saw  the  last 
part  in  place,  with  nearly  two  months  to  spare,  and  without  loss  of  life 
or  serious  accident. 

Engineer  Turk  and  his  associates,  in  returning  from  India,  passed 
on  the  way  another  band  of  American  workmen  bound  for  that  country, 
to  begin  one  of  the  most  important  electrical  undertakings  of  the  period. 
An  unusual  and  significant  story  lies  behind  this  second  invasion  of  the 
East.  Early  in  1900,  Captain  de  Lotbinniere,  an  officer  of  the  British 
Royal  Engineers,  was  sent  by  his  government  to  inspect  and  report  upon 
the  practicability  of  mining  the  gold  deposits  of  the  Kolar  district  in 
southern  India.  The  ore  produced  there  is  of  low  grade,  but  the  cyanide 
process  has  made  it  valuable,  and  the  mining  experts  who  inspected  the 
Kolar  deposits  reported  that  the  latter  could  be  made  to  yield  from 
twenty  to  thirty  million  dollars  of  gold  every  year,  although  Captain 
de  Lotbinniere’s  conclusion,  after  careful  study  of  the  attendant  condi¬ 
tions,  was  that  the  only  method  of  operation  that  held  out  an  assurance 
of  profit  was  machinery  driven  by  compressed  air.  This  method  required 
that  power  should  be  found,  by  which  compressed  air  could  be  applied  to 


440 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


machinery  in  the  mine.  Climatic  and  other  reasons  forbade  the  use  of 
steam-power,  but  ninety  miles  away,  at  Mysore,  were  the  great  falls  of 
the  Cauvery  River,  and  Captain  de  Lotbinniere,  recalling  the  works  at 
Niagara  Falls,  whence  an  electric  current  is  carried  to  Buffalo,  under¬ 
took  the  problem  of  generating  electric  power  at  the  riverside,  and  trans¬ 
mitting  it  to  the  mines. 

The  Hadras  government,  in  which  the  Kolar  district  is  located,  ap¬ 
proved  the  captain’s  plans,  and  gave  him  full  authority  to  put  them 
into  execution.  Here  his  real  labor  began.  The  various  electrical  con¬ 
cerns  in  England,  to  whom  he  first  applied,  declined  to  undertake  the 
construction  of  a  plant  capable  of  operating  compressed-air  apparatus  in 
gold  mines,  ninety  miles  removed  from  the  source  of  power.  French 
and  Belgian  engineers  were  equally  reluctant  to  essay  the  task,  and  those 
of  Germany  asked  for  time  in  which  to  make  experiments.  In  the  end, 
the  captain  was  compelled  to  bring  his  quest  to  this  country.  The 
engineers  of  the  electrical  company  before  whom  he  laid  his  proposition 
invited  the  cooperation  of  a  well-known  manufacturer  of  compressed-air 
machinery,  and  the  result  of  their  joint  labors  was  a  speedy  and  satis¬ 
factory  solution  of  the  problem  of  carrying  and  conserving  energy  over 
a  distance  of  nearly  a  hundred  miles.  The  million  dollars’  worth  of 
apparatus  contracted  for  by  Captain  de  Lotbinniere  before  he  sailed  for 
home  has  since  been  put  in  place.  Only  the  mines  will  be  supplied  at 
present  by  the  new  apparatus,  the  distinctive  feature  of  which  is  the 
employment  of  overhead  wires  at  a  high  voltage.  But  in  the  not  remote 
future,  the  strength  which  the  falls  is  capable  of  generating,  during  the 
rainy  season  of  ten  months,  being  enormous,  important  manufacturing 
enterprises,  now  preparing  to  locate  in  the  neighborhood,  will  avail 
themselves  of  the  practically  unlimited  power  the  plant  will  produce. 
The  excavating  machinery  with  which  the  mines  will  be  operated  also 
bears  an  American  imprint,  and  will,  together  with  the  electrical  plant, 
be  operated  by  American  engineers. 

The  harnessing  of  the  Cauvery  Falls  furnishes  fresh  proof  of  the 
ability  of  American  engineers  to  meet  and  master  new  conditions.  The 
pay  for  this  work  is  naturally  very  high.  Good  authority  has  it  that 
Henry  F.  Parshall,  the  American  director  of  some  of  the  great  electrical 
enterprises  now  under  way  in  London,  has  for  some  years  past  received 
annual  professional  fees  amounting  to  $150,000,  and  the  success  of  other 
of  our  native  engineers  has  been  hardly  less  marked  in  a  monetary  way. 
To  the  young  man  with  an  aptitude  for  the  work,  no  calling  holds  out 
greater  opportunities  at  the  present  time  than  engineering.^^ 


441 


MECHANICAL  ENGINEERING  AS  A 

PROFESSION 

By  WILLIAM  M.  WELCH,  M.E. 

The  mechanical  eng-ineer  is  a  product  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  With  the  application  of  steam  power  ^to 
machinery  his  profession  came  into  existence,  and 
it  has  developed  with  the  growth  of  the  science  and  art  of 
mechanics.  Some  of  its  branches,  such,  for  example,  as 
electrical  and  mining  engineering,  have  become  distinct 
professions. 

Theoretical  knowledge  and  practical  ability  are  the 
essential  qualifications  of  the  mechanical  engineer.  His- 
understanding  of  general  principles  is  the  attainment 
which  marks  the  difference  between  him  and  the  me¬ 
chanic,  and  enables  him  to.  reach  positions  of  high  au¬ 
thority.  His  fellow-worker  in  the  mechanical  field,  the 
machinist,  may  be,  and  often  is,  his  equal  or  superior  in  natural 
mechanical  ability,  but  where  the  machinist  earns  hundreds  of  dollars, 
the  mechanical  engineer  earns  thousands;  where  the  mechanic  must 
ordinarily  be  content  with  a  very  subordinate  position,  the  mechanical 
engineer  can  hope  for  the  very  highest  in  the  mechanical  world. 

The  difference,  so  great  in  its  consequences,  between  these  two 
classes  of  workers  is  simply  that  of  preliminary  education.  The  me¬ 
chanical  engineer,  taught  in  the  schools,  absorbs  principles  and  formulas 
which  are  the  essence  of  the  toil  and  research  of  many  men  extending 
through  many  years.  The  machinist,  on  the  other  hand,  knows  little 
that  he  has  not  acquired  in  the  hard  school  of  personal  experience.  It 
is  easy  to  see  how  vastly  more  economical  of  time  and  energy,  and  more 
effective,  is  the  training  of  the  young  man  with  a  scientific  school 
diploma. 

The  monetary  value  of  the  training  of  a  good  technical  school  has 
been  estimated  to  approximate  twenty-five  thousand  dollars;  that  is,  the 
youth  who  devotes  four  years  to  a  technical  education,  spending  six  hun¬ 
dred  dollars  in  fees  and  a  hundred  or  two  more  for  books  and  apparatus, 
is  believed  to  have  acquired  ability  to  earn  at  least  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  more  than  if  he  had  not  taken  this  training.  This  estimate  is 
based  upon  the  average  incomes  of  mechanics  and  mechanical  engineers, 


442 


BUSINESS  AND  COMIMERCE 


and  does  not  take  into  account  the  greatly  widened  field  of  opportunity 
which  this  education  offers  to  the  latter. 

The  youth  who  possesses  the  mechanical  and  mathematical  bent  of 
mind,  good  judgment,  and  strong  common  sense  essential  to  success  in 
mechanical  engineering,  and,  in  addition,  is  able  to  take  a  course  at  some 
technical  school  of  recognized  standing,  may  be  regarded  as  fortunate. 
He  is  entering  a  profession  in  which  the  demand  for  good  men  is  con¬ 
siderably  in  advance  of  the  supply.  The  use  of  machinery  is  being 
continually  extended.  In  this  country  we  are  still  in  the  infancy  of  me¬ 
chanical  development,  and  in  numerous  other  great  territories,  such  as 
China  and  the  East  generally,  and  our  own  new  colonial  possessions,  the 
beginning  has  as  yet  hardly  been  made.  China,  for  example,  within  the 
next  few  years  will  give  highly  compensated  employment  to  an  army  of 
mechanical  engineers.  Many  will  also  be  very  active  in  South  America, 
Cuba,  and  the  Philippines.  But  the  young  man  need  not  leave  the 
United  States  to  find  ample  opportunities  to  prove  his  ability  as  an  engi¬ 
neer.  Every  large  manufacturing  establishment  employs  several.  With 
the  forming  of  new  enterprises,  or  the  extending  of  old  ones,  comes 
more  work  for  members  of  this  profession. 

Andrew  Carnegie,  writing  to  Henry  Morton,  President  of  the  Stevens 
Institute  of  Teehnology,  says:  We  like  to  train  our  young  men  in  ae- 
eordance  with  our  individual  needs,  but  we  almost  always  require  them 
to  have  as  a  groundwork  a  teehnieal  edueation.  This  is  the  present- 
day  attitude  toward  the  meehanieal  engineer,  and  is  entirely  different 
from  that  of  twenty-five  years  ago.  Then  the  so-called  practical  man, 
who  had  begun  as  a  boy  in  the  shop  and  had  reached  a  position  of  author¬ 
ity  through  his  mechanical  skill  and  executive  ability,  was  very  much 
inclined  to  scoff  and  sneer  at  the  theoretical  education  of  the  young  man 
from  school,  and  the  latter  often  found  that  it  was  advisable  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  he  possessed  a  diploma  or  degree,  accepting  a  minor  position 
with  the  hope  that  his  speeial^  training  would  enable  him  to  forge  ahead, 
without  the  faet  being  known  that  he  was  a  graduate  of  a  technical  school. 

At  the  present  time  the  young  man  is  greatly  aided  in  obtaining  a 
position,  by  the  fact  of  his  graduation  from  a  scientific  school.  It  is  al¬ 
ways  a  decided  advantage  to  him  moreover,  if  his  alma  mater  is  an  in¬ 
stitution  of  recognized  standing,  because  a  good  many  of  the  high 
executive  positions  in  the  mechanical  field  are  held  by  graduates  of  the 
leading  schools,  and  among  these  gentlemen,  there  is  a  strong  tendency 
to  favor,  in  the  matter  of  employment  and  promotion,  young  men  from 
the  schools  from  which  they  themselves  graduated. 

The  mechanical  engineer  earns  a  living  income  much  sooner  than 
does  the  young  lawyer,  doctor,  or  member  of  almost  any  other  profession. 
This  makes  the  calling  a  particularly  good  one  for  the  sons  of  the  great 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


443 


army  of  middle  class  families,  whose  means  are  sufficient  to  see  their 
boys  through  the  four  years  at  a  technical  school,  but  are  not  enough  to 
maintain  them  during  the  subsequent  period,  which,  in  the  case  of  the 
young  lawyer  or  doctor,  is  usually  very  barren  of  monetary^  returns. 
A  young  man  from  a  technical  school  is  usually  earning  enough  within  a 
year  after  his  graduation  to  support  himself  comfortably.  President 
Morton  says  that  in  the  third  or  fourth  year  after  leaving  the  school,  the 
old  boys  generally  send  him  wedding  cards. 

The  technical  course  embraces  a  thorough  training  in  mechanics, 
mathematics,  physics,  chemistry,  electricity,  metallurgy,  mechanical 
drawing,  and  other  branches  which  embrace  theory  and  practice  in  the 
field  of  engineering.  Parallel  with  the  theoretical  study,  is  a  course  of 
practical  work  in  the  shop.  The  scientific  study  is  supplemented  by  a 
course  in  English  sufficient  to  give  the  student  a  familiarity  with  the 
best  literature,  and  to  give  him  facility  in  the  use  of  his  mother  tongue. 
French  and  German  are  taught  with  a  view  of  giving  the  mechanical 
engineer  direct  access  to  the  scientific  literature  of  two  peoples  who  are 
very  active  in  scientific  and  mechanical  pursuits. 

Professor  R.  H.  Thurston  has  made  to  the  students  of  Lowell  Uni¬ 
versity  some  general  remarks  which  are  worth  quoting.  The  professor 
says  that  mechanical  training  gives  the  student  very  effective  tools,  and 
also  teaches  him  how  to  use  them.  The  special  value  of  this  training 
will  be  tested  not  so  much  during  the  engineer’s  early  years  as  after  he 
reaches  places  of  high  responsibility,  and  is  confronted  with  exceptional 
problems,  difficult  of  solution  to  the  best  of  engineers.  Such  problems 
are  frequently  occurring  in  thermodynamics  and  its  application  in  the 
construction  of  engines,  and  in  other  branches  of  mechanical  engineer¬ 
ing.  The  ability  to  quickly  and  successfully  solve  them  is  a  very  im¬ 
portant  factor  in  the  equipment  which  enables  a  man  to  attain  high 
success  in  the  profession. 

Seize  every  opportunity,^^  says  Professor  Thurston,  ''to  pick  up 
scraps  of  information.  Theoretical  knowledge  must  be  covered  and  sup¬ 
plemented  by  a  wide  and  minute  knowledge  of  practical  details.  Learn 
all  you  can  from  the  rough-and-ready,  able,  but  untaught,  mechanic, 
never  refusing  to  him  in  return  liberal  rewards  from  your  own  store  of 
knowledge.  Do  not  be  obtrusive  with  your  own  attainments,  and  make 
every  experience  further  your  practical  equipment.  This  alertness  in 
gleaning  practical  information  from  practical  sources  is  very  essential  to 
success.  Many  workmen  can  give  the  mechanical  engineer  practical 
ideas  and  make  him  familiar  with  methods  and  details  of  which  he 
knows  little  or  nothing.  This  practice,  of  gathering  information  from  a 
great  number  and  variety  of  trees  of  knowledge,  is  followed  by  those  who 
obtain  the  greatest  prizes  in  our  profession,  The  man  who  achieves  sue- 


444 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


cess  is  the  man  who ‘takes  ad  vantage  of  more  or  less  obscure  opportuni¬ 
ties,  overlooked  by  the  careless  and  the  obtuse. 

One  should  always  be  ready  for  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune ;  be  pre¬ 
pared  to  lose  your  position,  by  reason  of  failure  of  your  employers  or 
some  other  cause.  The  best  way  of  holding  a  place  is,  of  course,  to  do 
your  work  so  well  that  your  services  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  Always 
be  prepared  to  assist  friends  and  deserving  acquaintances.  They  may 
at  some  future  time  be  able  to  do  you  a  good  turn  in  case  of  an  emer¬ 
gency.  No  man,  no  matter  how  able,  can  be  independent  of  others. 
The  strongest  man  standing  alone  without  friends  can  accomplish  little. 
Endeavor  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  principles  and 
practices  of  the  trades  which  are  auxiliary  to  mechanical  engineering; 
be  able  to  tell  the  pattern-maker  how  to  make  your  model,  the  molder 
how  to  mold  it;  the  founder  what  metals  should  be  combined  in  the 
casting;  the  blacksmith  where  to  use  the  best  iron  and  where  the  cheap¬ 
est,  and  how  to  weld,  'preserving  the  fiber  of  the  iron  uninjured.  You 
should  be  able  to  instruct  unskilled  boiler-makers  in  the  matter  of  select¬ 
ing,  testing,  and  spacing  rivets,  in  welding  seams,  and  turning  the 
flanges.  Do  not  be  content  until  you  can  take  the  various  pieces,  as  they 
come  from  their  makers,  and  combine  them  into  a  perfect  machine. 

To  acquire  this  all-round  mechanical  ability  takes  time,  persever¬ 
ance,  keen  observation,  and  good  memory.  In  addition,  there  must  be 
that  mechanical  knack  of  doing  things  which  is  both  natural  and  ac¬ 
quired,  and  which  no  engineer  in  successful  practice  is  without.  Try  to 
earn  self-approval ;  let  no  task  be  pronounced  completed  until  it  has  been 
done  to  the  best  of  your  ability.  Make  the  most  of  your  resources. 
Even  rude  devices,  cheap  materials,  rough  workmanship,  and  absence 
of  finish  often  indicate  that  the  engineer  has  been  able  to  accomplish 
much  under  adverse  circumstances.  Be  guided  but  never  ruled  by  pre¬ 
cedents.  Lowe  says:  man  who  habitually  prefers  old  practices  to 

new,  follows  a  principle  which  would  stereotype  every  abuse.  ^  This  is 
even  more  true  in  engineering  than  in  ethics,  since  the  former  is  essen¬ 
tially  a  progressive  art.  Be,  therefore,  radical  in  theory  and  conserva¬ 
tive  in  practice.  Help  the  inventor,  and  try  to  become  one  yourself. 
Do  not  give  up  your  studies. 

THE  MINING  ENGINEER 

By  WM.  S.  JONES 

Mining  Expert 

A  COMPLETE  revolution  has  been  wrought  in  mining  methods  during 
the  last  few  years,  and  at  the  present  time  the  young  man  who 
would  succeed  in  this  calling  must  be  a  thoroughly  trained  mining 
engineer.  If  he  has  a  technical  education  and  a  natural  aptitude  for 
the  work,  no  occupation  holds  out  larger  promise  of  profit  and  steady 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


445 


advancement.  The  pay  is  large  and  the  field  practically  unlimited.  A 
striking  instance  of  the  handsome  rewards  awaiting  those  equal  to  their 
opportunities  is  furnished  in  the  career  of  John  Hays  Hammond,  who,  it 
is  reported  on  competent  authority,  received  $60,000  a  year  for  his  serv¬ 
ices.  The  statement  is  frequently  made  by  men  interested  in  mines  and 
mining  that  there  are  not  enough  competent  mine  managers  to  supply 
the  demand. 

It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  a  managership  awaits  every 
graduate  of  a  mining  school,  who  proves  by  active  and  intelligent  labor 
in  the  fields  and  underground  that  he  understands  mining  praeticc  as 
well  as  theory.  The  graduate,  when  he  first  goes  to  a  mine,  is  likely  to 
be  regarded  as  something  of  a  hothouse  growth ;  he  must  bring  his  in¬ 
tellect  to  bear  upon  the  practical  problems  of  the  day’s  task,  to  equip 
himself  for  the  position.  His  technieal  knowledge  of  formations  must 
enable  him  to  make  explorations  underground  as  well  as  on  the  surfaee. 
If  he  is  to  be  in  control,  he  must  be  able  to  do  a  given  piece  of  work  as 
well  or  better  than  the  best  of  his  workmen.  This  implies  strength  as 
well  as  skill.  He  must  also  be  equal  to  the  task  of  managing  men. 

When  these  qualities  are  combined,  their  possessor  has  not  far  to 
seek  for  an  opportunity  to  exercise  his  abilities  in  a  remunerative  field. 
There  are  few  professions  that  offer  such  promise  of  high  reward  as  does 
that  of  the  mining  engineer.  One  reason  why  high  salaries  are  paid  to 
mine  managers  is  that,  their  work  being  so  far  away  from  headquarters, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  proprietors  shall  secure  men  upon  whom  they  can 
absolutely  rely,  not  only  in  the  matter  of  fidelity  to  their  interests,  but 
also  for  ability  to  conduct  the  enterprise  without  supervision.  Not  all 
successful  mining  engineers  are  graduates  of  the  schools.  A  consider¬ 
able  number  of  those  who  are  in  the  lead  are  practically  self-taught. 
Senator  John  P.  Jones  of  Nevada  belongs  to  this  class.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  gold  excitement,  lie  went  overland  with  a  wagon  train  to  Cal¬ 
ifornia.  There  he  worked  as  a  miner,  in  placers  and  tunnels.  The  first 
hundred  dollars  he  ever  possessed  was  dug  from  the  earth  with  his 
own  hands.  He  diligently  studied  mining,  reading  and  rereading  many 
books  upon  the  subject.  He  prospeeted  from  place  to  place  until  1867, 
when,  quartz  or  lode  mining  having  largely  superseded  plaeers,  a  promi¬ 
nent  mine  owner  in  the  Comstoek  asked  him  to  take  charge  as  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  Crown  Point  and  Kentuck  mines.  The  future  senator 
soon  secured  a  proprietary  interest  in  the  Crown  Point,  and  from  its  de¬ 
velopment  aequired  a  fortune  of  millions.  He  lost  his  fortune  by  invest¬ 
ments  in  various  mining  enterprises  in  California  and  Nevada,  and  for 
several  years  was  a  poor  man.  Then  he  was  suddenly  restored  to  wealth 
by  the  great  productions  of  the  Treadwell  mine  in  Alaska,  which  he  had 
located  and  developed.  Senator  Jones  ascribes  the  success,  whieh  has 


446 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


attended  his  efforts,  to  an  early  determination  to  make  himself  master  of 
every  branch  of  his  calling,  and  it  is  his  belief  that  any  young  man  of  the 
present  time,  who  takes  up  mining  with  a  like  determination,  is  sure  in 
the  end  to  acquire  a  competence,  if  not  a  fortune. 

The  late  Marcus  Daly  was  another  admirable  example  of  the  self- 
taught  mining  engineer.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  in  the  early 
’fifties  drifted  to  the  Pacific  coast.  He  had  no  sooner  set  his  foot  in 
California  than  he  bought  a  miner’s  kit,  and  struck  out  for  the  mines. 
He  did  not  know  a  gold  vein  from  a  ledge  of  sandstone,  but  he  had  a 
pair  of  strong  arms,  and  he  knew  how  to  use  a  pick  and  shovel. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  he  gained  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  best  judges  of  mining  properties  in  California  and  Utah.  He  also 
made  valuable  acquaintances,  among  them  the  Walker  Brothers,  of  Salt 
Lake  City.  It  was  in  their  behalf  that  he  undertook  the  exploration  of 
the  Alice  mine,  in  Montana.  Going  to  Butte  as  a  working  miner,  he 
went  to  a  cheap  hotel,  stayed  a  week,  and  then  told  the  landlord  he  could 
not  pay  his  bill  unless  he  got  a  job.  The  landlord  secured  work  for  him 
in  two  or  three  mines,  one  of  which  he  found  too  damp  for  his  health, 
and  another  unsafe.  The  landlord,  in  desperation,  finally  induced  the 
owners  of  the  Alice  to  give  Daly  a  chance  to  earn  money  enough  to 
settle  the  account.  Daly  studied  the  property  for  three  weeks,  while  he 
worked,  then  left  town,  and,  six  weeks  later,  returned  as  superintendent 
of  the  mine,  which  was  soon  turning  out  bullion  to  the  amount  of  nearly 
one  million  dollars  a  year.  All  this  time  he  had  been  working  for 
others,  but  he  was  now  in  a  position'  to  do  something  in  a  modest  way 
for  himself.  Among  other  investments,  he  was  able  to  buy  the  Anaconda 
silver  mine,  for  thirty  thousand  dollars.  After  working  it  for  silver  to  a 
depth  of  120  feet,  he  struck  the  richest  copper  deposit  in  the  world,  and 
his  fortune  was  made.  Besides  the  Anaconda,  he  soon  owned  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  adjoining  mines.  Work  was  pushed  forward  on  both  the 
Anaconda  and  Lawrence,  and  as  copper  was  then  beginning  to  find  a 
livelier  market  than  ever  before,  he  constructed  works  for  the  treatment 
of  ores,  of  a  magnitude  that  had  not  been  before  seen  on  the  American 
continent.  A  city  was  laid  out  at  the  same  time  and  named  Anaconda. 
Daly  had  in  his  employ  in  mines  and  reduction  works,  over  which  he 
held  control  at  the  time  of  his  death,  about  six  thousand  men. 

Pluck,  crowned  by  good  judgment,  has  been  the  corner-stone  of 
most  of  the  great  mining  fortunes,  including  that  of  the  man  from  whom 
the  Colorado  town  of  Creede  takes  its  name.  Nicholas  C.  Creede  was 
born  on  an  Indiana  farm,  put  in  seven  years  as  a  scout  and  Indian  fighter, 
and  helped  with  his  hands  to  open  the  overland  route  to  the  Rockies. 

I  was  in  the  Black  Hills,  said  he,  before  gold  was  discovered,  and, 
when  I  heard  of  that  excitement,  it  set  me  to  thinking  about  my  lost 


I^USlNESS  AND  COMMERCi? 


447 


opportunities.  I  began  to  talk  to  everybody  I  met  whom  I  thought  had  any 

« 

knowledge  of  minerals,  and  by  this  means  picked  up  sufficient  knowledge 
to  tell  silver  or  gold  ^  float  ^  when  I  saw  it.  Then  I  became  a  pros¬ 
pector.  I  usually  took  a  man  along,  though  sometimes  I  could  get  no 
one  to  accompany  me,  and  went  for  months  without  seeing  a  human 
being.  In  May,  1899,  I  struck  some  float  on  the  side  of  Mammoth  Moun¬ 
tain.  I  tied  my  burros  and  began  to  follow  it.  I  climbed  the  mountain 
all  day  along  the  trail  of  the  float.  The  sun  was  beating  down  on  me, 
and  the  glint  of  the  float  under  my  feet  was  blinding.  Just  when  the 
Western  sky  was  tinged  with  that  gorgeous  red  we  sometimes  see  in 
the  Rockies,  I  lifted  my  head  and  saw  projecting  in  the  front  a  boulder 
of  silicate  as  big  as  a  house.  That  was  where  the  float  I  had  followed 
all  day  came  from.  I  almost  shouted  with  delight.  I  knew  it  was  bound 
to  come  some  day,  but  the  idea  of  finding  it  in  such  shape  was  appalling 
to  me.  However,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I  staked  it  off  and  it  was 
mine.  I  named  it  the  Mammoth.  I  knew  there  must  be  more  of  it 
close  around,  and  I  kept  at  work  for  a  month,  until  in  June,  I  found  the 
Ethel.  Six  months  after  he  located  the  Mammoth  and  Ethel  mines 
there  were  five  thousand  people  in  Creede. 

A  somewhat  similar  story  lies  behind  the  career  of  Thos.  F.  Walsh, 
owner  of  one  of  the  richest  mines  ever  found  in  Colorado.  Walsh  was 
born  in  Ireland  fifty  years  ago,  and  came  to  America  in  the  early  'seven¬ 
ties,  settling  in  Colorado.  He  was  a  millwright  by  trade,  but  soon  took 
to  prospecting,  and  made  a  small  fortune  during  the  Black  Hills  excite¬ 
ment.  Then  he  moved  to  Leadville,  and,  while  conducting  a  hotel, 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  mining.  Like  Marcus  Daly,  he  gave  the 
study  of  ores  and  minerals  careful  attention,  and  became  thoroughly 
versed  in  the  nature  of  mineralized  rock.  He  made  money  in  Leadville, 
as  he  had  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  later  extended  his  operations  to  most 
of  the  mining  counties  in  Colorado,  besides  operating  mines  in  Montana. 
Up  to  1890,  Mr.  Walsh  always  had  partners  in  his  ventures,  but,  from  the 
first,  he  hoped  to  find  a  mining  property  that  he  could  own  alone.  Five 
years  ago,  he  was  examining  the  country  west  of  Ouray,  Colorado.  The 
section  was  a  difficult  and  uninviting  one  for  the  prospector,  slide-rock 
and  moraine  making  it  almost  impossible  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  original 
formation.  There  was,  however,  one  place  on  the  mountainside  where 
some  previous  work  had  been  done,  reaching  in  to  where  the  vein  ought 
to  be,  but  unfortunately  an  immense  bank  of  snow  guarded  the  entrance 
and  covered  the  workings  at  this  point.  He  continued  his  investigations 
for  several  weeks,  and  one  day  found  a  small  piece  of  ore.  He  assayed 
it  and  it  ran  very  high  in  gold.  Then  he  waited  for  the  snow-bank  to 
melt.  The  time  came  at  last  when  the  tunnel  he  was  waiting  for 
could  be  located,  and,  with  a  little  shoveling,  exposed.  Next  day,  he 


448 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


arose  from  a  sick-bed,  and,  though  scarcely  able  to  walk,  made  his  way 
to  the  tunnel  and  began  an  examination  of  the  vein.  He  found  one 
side  of  it  lined  with  sparkling  zinc  and  copper  ore,  beautiful  to  the  eye 
but  of  little  value.  On  the  inner  side,  however,  he  noticed  a  white  rock, 
dotted  with  little  specks  of  a  black  mineral  which  his  trained  eye  told 
him  at  once  was  silvenite,  a  composition  containing  two-thirds  gold  and 
one-third  silver.  Careful  assays  quickly  justified  his  first  judgment. 
The  claim,  which  was  on  abandoned  ground,  was  located,  patented,  and 
named  Camp  Bird.  After  that,  Mr.  Walsh  set  to  work  to  secure  by  loca¬ 
tion  and  purchase  an  absolute  and  individual  ownership  of  this  vein  for 
six  miles  in  length.  So  successful  were  his  efforts,  that  he  now  has  what 
promises  to  be  by  far  the  largest  and  most  extensive  gold  and  silver 
mining  property  owned  by  any  one  individual  in  the  world.  The  cost  of 
acquiring  and  equipping  this  property  up  to  the  present  time  has  been 
enormous.  Fortunately,  the  output  has  been  even  greater,  and  it  is  pre¬ 
dicted  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  it  will  run  into  a  plurality  of 
millions  a  year.  The  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  Mr.  Walsh’s  career,  by 
young  men  who  have  any  idea  of  embarking  in  mining  business,  is  to 
study  the  nature  of  rocks  in  a  most  thorough  and  practical  way,  and  not 
to  despise  those  which  are  humble  in  appearance. 

Edward  Schieffiin,  discoverer  of  the  silver  ledges  at  Tombstone,  Ari¬ 
zona,  was  pronounced  by  General  Miles  to  be  the  truest  type  of  the  un¬ 
tiring  and  persevering  prospector  the  Southwest  has  ever  had.  He  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  when  a  lad  was  taken  to  Oregon  by  his 
parents.  His  father  tried  to  teach  him  farming,  but  the  boy  ran  away  and 
went  prospecting  for  copper  ore  in  southern  Oregon.  He  endured  hard¬ 
ship  and  solitude,  sometimes  with  a  companion  and  sometimes  with  only 
a  jackass  for  company.  He  dressed  as  an  Indian.  For  years  he  pros¬ 
pected.  No  matter  how  footsore,  hungry,  lonesome,  and  weary,  he  was 
never  known  to  waver  in  his  love  for  his  chosen  vocation.  The  year  1877 
found  him  delving  in  the  hills  near  the  present  town  of  Tombstone. 
Early  in  the  following  year  he  found  a  peculiar  specimen  of  rock  which 
he  was  convinced  was  rich  in  silver.  He  returned  to  Camp  Hauchuca. 
There  he  told  a  brother  of  his  discovery,  and  the  rock  was  submitted  to  a 
miner  named  Richard  Gird^  who  suggested  that  it  might  pay  to  work 
the  ground  from  which  it  was  taken.  To  this  Schieffiin  consented,  on 
condition  that  Gird  accompany  them  and  pay  the  expenses  of  the  outfit. 
It  was  thus  arranged. 

Ore  was  found  that  assayed  over  two  thousand  dollars  to  the  ton,  and 
160  acres  of  mineral  land  were  located.  When  they  had  taken  out 
$10,000  in  silver  bullion,  they  invested  the  entire  sum  in  improved  ma¬ 
chinery  for  the  reduction  of  silver  ore.  This  machinery  enabled  them 
to  take  out  every  week  from  four  to  six  thousand  dollars’  worth  of  silver. 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


440 


At  the  end  of  three  years,  Gird  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  claims  for 
eight  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  the  Schiefflins  for  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  each,  but  an  equal  division  was  made.  Gird  refusing  to 
take  more  than  an  equal  third.  In  five  years  the  Tombstone  district 
produced  twenty-five  million  dollars  worth  of  silver. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  a  great  many  more  failures  than 
successes  are  to  be  recorded  in  the  life  of  the  mining  prospector.  The 
work  of  the  mining  engineer  is  not  subjected  to  the  same  vicissitudes  as 
that  of  his  employers,  for  he  is  only  occasionally  a  party  to  disappoint¬ 
ments  and  losses. 

In  the  great  and  growing  field  of  coal  mining,  the  engineer  is  con¬ 
fronted  by  conditions  essentially  different  from  those  of  the  searchet* 
after  precious  metals.  Here  he  is  on  comparatively  safe  ground,  with 
just  as  important  problems  to  solve,  but  with  far  more  conservative 
materials  to  deal  with  and  under  better  organized  industrial  conditions. 
Supply  and  demand  govern  the  business.  Economy  of  production  is  the 
one  great  end  and  aim  of  his  efforts.  The  factors  entering  into  the 
engineer’s  calculations  are  fixed.  The  coal  is  there.  It  is  to  be  got 
out  more  promptly  and  at  less  cost  than  before,  and  if  the  expert  can  do 
this,  he  has  succeeded.  If  he  can  overcome  the  natural  enemies  of  the 
coal  miner  —  flood,  fire,  and  noxious  gases  —  by  simple  contrivances  in  the 
nature  of  preventives,  he  has  scored  other  triumphs  not  inferior  to 
those  of  the  cautious  lawyer  who  saves  his  client’s  money  by  preventing 
litigation.  If  he  can  cut  cross-tunnels  safely  in  places  where  his  prede¬ 
cessors  feared  to  go;  if  he  can  purify  the  air  by  cheap  ventilating  appli¬ 
ances;  if  he  lets  no  pound  of  steam  pressure  go  to  waste,  but  utilizes  it  all 
in  improving  the  service ;  in  short,  if  he  works  for  a  company  dividend 
rather  than  for  his  salary,  his  reward  will  be  substantial. 

With  ingenuity,  a  clever  student  of  mining  engineering  can  accom¬ 
plish  more  than  can  his  fellow-engineer  with  capital.  Originality  is 
everywhere  at  a  premium,  but  in  a  coal  mine  an  idea  is  sometimes  worth 
a  fortune.  The  soft  coal  fields  of  the  South  are  waiting  for  exploration, 
for  young  men  who  have  the  sharpness  to  get  their  stores  out,  and  into 
the  consumer’s  hands,  at  a  profit.  Some  of  these  fields  are  enormous. 
West  Virginia  has  more  coal  lands,  for  instance,  than  Great  Britain. 
Even  Kentucky  can  claim  the  same  distinction,  while  Alabama  and  Ar¬ 
kansas  have  each  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  English  area  of  11,900  square 
miles.  Most  of  these  vast  deposits  lie  within  a  few  dozen  miles  of  great 
bodies  of  iron  ore  and  an  abundance  of  sulphur.  There  is  enough  iron 
and  coal  in  America  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  world  for  the  next  ten 
thousand  years. 

It  may  very  easily  be  true,  therefore,  as  claimed  by  the  heads  of  tech¬ 
nical  schools  and  colleges  (such  as  Cornell  and  Stevens),  that  the  demand 

13—29 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


for  civil  engineers  in  the  mining  and  collateral  industries  is  far  ahead  of 
the  supply.  Every  class  graduated  at  these  leading  institutions  in  late 
years  has  been  absorbed  by  employers,  its  members  being  readily  given 
desirable  and  remunerative  positions.  American  corporations  are  not 
only  using  them  here,  but  are  sending  them  out  to  our  dominions 
beyond  the  seas.® 


THE  STATIONARY  ENGINEER 


From  the  time  when  James  Watt  listened  to  the  music  of  the  steam  from 
his  mother’s  teakettle,  the  vocation  of  the  stationary  engineer  has 
had  a  peculiar  fascination  for  the  lover  of  mechanics.  When  this 
attraction  manifests  itself  in  a  boy,  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  me¬ 
chanical  bent  which  it  implies. 

The  stationary  engineer  has  been  an  honored  figure  in  the  world’s 
work  for  a  hundred  years  and  more.  His  work  has  made  it  possible  for 
industry  to  accomplish  wonders;  for  architecture  to  rear  magnificent 
edifices  along  with  the  development  of  the  elevator;  for  electricity  to 
gridiron  a  vast  area  of  the  United  States  and  thus  increase  the  comfort 
and  convenience  of  the  people. 

The  calling  is  one  which  gives  its  best  prizes  to  proficiency,  and 
stamps  the  work  of  all  as  useful,  and,  therefore,  honorable  and  helpful 
to  mankind.  Beginning  with  the  humble  wages  of  an  oiler,  cleaner,  or 
fireman  in  an  engine  room,  a  young  man  of  natural  aptitude  need  en¬ 
counter  no  insurmountable  obstacles,  if  he  be  determined  to  reach  the 
high  plane  of  consulting  engineer.  His  wages  may  be  as  low  as  three 
dollars  a  week,  yet  he  has  opportunity  to  study  the  mechanism  of  the 
operating  machinery,  and  to  get  that  practical  knowledge  which  is  just  as 
essential  to  him  as  the  theoretical  study  which  he  may  pursue  in  special 
schools. 

Organization  has  done  much  to  promote  the  interests  of  stationary  en¬ 
gineers.  In  the  United  States,  fifteen  thousand  of  them  are  now  enrolled 
as  members  of  the  National  Association  of  Stationary  Engineers,  with 

hundreds  of  local  associations  throughout  the  country.  This  body  has 

» 

struck  the  keynote  of  its  purpose  in  the  single  sentence:  ^^To  earn 
more,  learn  more.®  The  educational  committee,  whose  members  are  re¬ 
cruited  from  the  ranks  of  the  active  engineers,  conducts  a  regular 
course  of  instruction  through  the  columns  of  the  Association  paper, 
propounding  questions  to  be  answered,  and  printing  interesting  discus¬ 
sions  arising  from  the  difficult  problems  in  engineering.  The  advan¬ 
tage  of  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  is  apparent  in  the  better 


BUSINESS  AND  COMMERCE 


451 


technical  training  of  the  engineers  belonging  to  the  association.  They 
have  been  commanding  better  wages,  within  the  past  five  years,  than 
ever  before. 

Another  factor  which  has  entered  into  the  work  of  the  stationary 
_  engineer  is  the  dynamo,  or  the  electric  generator,  which  is  directly 
connected  with  the  steam  engine.  It  was  Thomas  A.  Edison  who,  in 
1883,  first  united  these  two  powerful  forces  in  a  single  harness.  As 
a  result,  the  stationary  engineer  of  to-day  is  not  considered  compe¬ 
tent  if  he  fails  to  understand  something  of  the  principles  and  mechan¬ 
ism  of  electricity,  as  well  as  those  of  steam. 

The  broadening  of  his  horizon  has  been  a  good  thing  for  him.  He 
easily  and  rapidly  graduates,  if  he  be  ambitious  and  intelligent,  from 
the  hard  toil  of  the  engine  room  to  the  dignity  of  the  position  of  chief 
engineer.  There  are  stationary  engineers  receiving  salaries  of  three 
thousand,  four  thousand,  and  even  five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  who 
owe  their  success  solely  to  their  ability  to  take  advantage  of  opportuni¬ 
ties  for  self-improvement.  The  constructing  or  consulting  engineer  is 
sometimes  evolved  from  the  engine  room,  and  he  is  the  better  for 
that  training  when  he  comes  to  lay  out  a  power  plant  for  a  railway,  or 
a  heating  and  lighting  plant  for  a  large  institution  or  public  building. 


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